UTU News Digest - Thursday, April 22, 1999

UTU Daily News Digest

Information of interest to operating railroad and transportation employees

Thursday, April 22, 1999

NEW JERSEY: Teen gets probation for rail mischief

HAWTHORNE -- A 16-year-old Hawthorne boy wiped away tears as a state judge Wednesday announced that he would not serve time behind bars for placing a large rock in the path of a train last fall.

Instead, the boy was placed on probation for two years, ordered to perform 400 hours of community service, attend rail safety classes, continue at high school where he is a junior, and participate in anger management and psychological counseling, according to reports in The Bergen Record.

On Sept. 8, the teen put a boulder on the tracks near Loretto Avenue in Hawthorne and a Conrail freight train slammed into it, rupturing its fuel tank and spilling about 1,000 gallons of diesel. Service was interrupted for hours and the cleanup cost was more than $10,000.

Before he was sentenced Wednesday, the teen said he thanked God that no one was hurt from his prank.

"I'm very, very sorry for what I did," he said. "I made a very stupid decision. I never intended to cause any damage or hurt anyone."

The teen, who works weekends as a busboy, must also find a way to repay Conrail and the Hawthorne Fire Department, which spent $1,600 responding to the accident and soaking up fuel. Judge Stephen H. Womack ordered the boy to repay the municipality within 90 days.

If the teen violates his probation, he may spend up to two years at the New Jersey Training School for Boys in Jamesburg.

He was one of two boys who went on trial for placing rocks in the paths of trains; both were convicted in February in juvenile court on various counts.

Also on Sept. 8, the second teen placed a cinder block in the path of an NJ Transit commuter train. That train smashed the block, but no one was injured, and an expert testified that there was never a risk of derailment. The second teen was sentenced in March to a year of probation and 150 hours of community service.

The boys did not stay to see the trains hit the rocks and they never said they intended to damage the trains. Before he sentenced the boy Wednesday, Womack said "I'm not sure if [he] knew why he did it."

Joseph Afflitto Jr., the lawyer for the teen sentenced Wednesday, said in court that putting the boy behind bars would "destroy him." He noted that the boy has the support of his family and is active in school, sports, and church.

"This gives him an opportunity to prove himself through the restitution and community service," Afflitto said after the hearing in juvenile court. "The community service is going to serve as a reminder that he has to think before he does anything that puts persons and property at risk."

Paul DeGroot, the Passaic County assistant prosecutor on the case, had asked that the boy be sent to Jamesburg, saying train riders and workers would want more punishment than probation.

"I'm disappointed that there is no time [in custody] but I think the 400 hours in community service will definitely bring the message home that this type of action has consequences, and I don't think that this juvenile will re-offend."

Womack said he decided on probation because the teen had no criminal record, was unlikely to commit another crime, seemed likely to respond to probation, and because the other boy received probation.

ARKANSAS: Officers ride the rails to eye grade crossing violations

WEST MEMPHIS -- Law enforcement officers from Union Pacific Railroad and West Memphis Police Department last week rode in the cab of a locomotive as part of a program called "Officer on the Train" to observe motorists' behavior at several highway-railroad grade crossings and issued 40 citations and three warnings to motorists for highway-railroad grade crossing violations.

"Officer on the Train" is part of the Operation Lifesaver program where police officers ride on trains to observe motorist behavior at highway-railroad grade crossings. If a motorist violates the grade crossing traffic laws, the police officer on the train radios to an officer near the crossing, who can issue the motorist a citation.

"Operation Lifesaver" is a national safety program supported by state and federal agencies, railroads and rail labor intended to remind the public about the dangers at highway-railroad grade crossings.

West Memphis was chosen by Union Pacific's Crossing Accident Reduction Enforcement (CARE) task force for this enforcement run because several near misses have occurred in the area this year. The 24-member task force is made up of UP special agents who work with city, county and state police officers to enforce highway-railroad grade crossing laws.

Preliminary 1998 figures show there were 115 highway-railroad grade crossing collisions in Arkansas resulting in 45 injuries and 24 fatalities, compared to 118 collisions resulting in 44 injuries and 10 deaths in 1997.

MISSOURI: KCS Introduces Time-Definite Intermodal Service in Mexico

KANSAS CITY -- Kansas City Southern Railway Co. (KCS) and its affiliates Texas Mexican Railway (Tex Mex) and Grupo TFM (TFM) have introduced a new service called NAFTA Express, featuring highly reliable intermodal service both in Mexico and to the U.S.-Mexico gateway at Laredo, Texas.

With NAFTA Express, truckload shippers who previously relied on trucks for service in Mexico can move their time-sensitive intermodal freight on the railroad from throughout North America. Shippers who want to continue to de-ramp in Laredo can take advantage of NAFTA Express service provided through the Tex Mex' new intermodal facility located near the U.S.-Mexico border.

"With connections to all the Class 1 railroads, NAFTA Express offers shippers a reliable rail option and an alternative to trucks," said Mike Haverty, KCS President and Chief Executive Officer. "We see NAFTA Express as a significant growth opportunity, particularly when shippers realize they have a reliable alternative to the hassle, expense and delays of over-the-road service."

TFM's Director of Intermodal and Automotive Dan Beers said NAFTA Express will initially service the Mexico City metro area through the Pantaco intermodal facility and will expand to other metro areas in Mexico this year. Service to and from Monterrey will be added in May.

"NAFTA Express features daily train starts with 36-hour transit times between Laredo and Mexico City," said Beers. "TFM, Tex Mex and KCS have demonstrated our ability to perform to agreed-upon standards. Our track record, particularly with the automotive industry, should assure intermodal shippers of our ability to meet time-sensitive transit times."

KCS is a Class 1 railroad operating over 2,756 miles of track in seven Midwest and South-central states. Through acquisitions, investments and marketing alliances, KCS has developed a North American rail network called the NAFTA Railway, which links the commercial and industrial centers of Canada, United States and Mexico.

The Tex Mex operates over a 560-mile route in Texas that includes its 157-mile line between Laredo and Corpus Christi, Texas, and an additional 400 miles of trackage rights between Corpus Christi, Houston and Beaumont. It has been based in Laredo, Texas, since its founding in 1877. Through its connection with the KCS in Beaumont and Transportation Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) at Laredo, the Tex Mex provides a vital link in transporting North American trade on the NAFTA Railway.

TFM, a joint venture of Kansas City Southern Industries and Mexican shipping conglomerate Transportation Maritima Mexicana (TMM), operates the primary rail route in northern Mexico linking Mexico City with Laredo, where over 50 percent of U.S.-Mexico trade crosses the border. TFM's 2,661-mile line also connects the major population centers within Mexico in Monterrey and Guadalajara and the ports of Lazaro Cardenas, Veracrus and Tampico.

CALIFORNIA: Oil spill shuts Metrolink track

TRANSPORTATION CENTER -- A hose linking two oil tank train cars ruptured, spraying crude oil onto the Metrolink passenger platform and causing a three-hour closure of a track at the Regional Intermodal Transportation Center, officials said.

The leak occurred Monday afternoon (April 19, 1999) when a metal connector linking two Union Pacific Railroad tank cars broke and caused the hose to rupture, said Burbank Fire Department Battalion Chief Ray Krakowski.

About three gallons of crude oil sprayed about 75 feet onto the platform, steps and handrails, he said.

The small spill led to the closure of the track closest to the platform for 3 1/2 hours, said Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo.

Metrolink and other trains were rerouted to another track, he said.

A steam-cleaning crew from Union Pacific cleaned up the mess and the track was back to full operation by 4:30 p.m.

No injuries were reported and there was no hazardous materials cleanup required, Krakowski said.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: STB to consider further DM&E routing alternatives

WASHINGTON -- The Surface Transportation Board (Board) announced today in a Notice to the Parties (Notice) that its Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) is providing a limited, additional comment period for interested communities to develop specific bypass proposals that may be reasonable routing alternatives to the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad's (DM&E) proposed rail line construction into Wyoming's Powder River Basin. Comments containing specific bypass designs must be filed by June 10, 1999. DM&E and any interested party or person who may be affected by a proposed bypass then will have until July 12, 1999 to respond.

This additional comment period is not a substitute for the comment period that will be provided on all aspects of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) when that document is issued.

In the Final Scope of Study for the Environmental Impact Statement issued March 10, 1999 (Final Scope), SEA made a preliminary determination, based on submissions by the City of Rochester, Minnesota (City), that the City had met an initial burden of showing that its south bypass proposal may be a feasible routing alternative.

The additional comment period will afford other interested communities the same opportunity to submit specific bypass designs.

The Notice issued today specifies that information received from any community regarding a bypass must be detailed enough for the Board and the cooperating agencies to determine whether a specific bypass proposal constitutes a reasonable and feasible alternative to DM&E's proposal, or merely shifts the potential environmental consequences of DM&E's proposed action to different areas.

The type of information that should be submitted includes detailed maps showing where the proposed bypass route would be located; quantified impacts to wetlands; cut and fill requirements to permit design and operation of a railroad; roads that would be crossed and their average daily traffic levels; proximity of the bypass to sensitive structures (for example, schools, libraries, hospitals, residences, retirement communities, and nursing homes); and impacts to landowners and farmlands.

The Powder River Basin Project is DM&E's proposal to construct approximately 280 miles of new rail line in South Dakota and Wyoming and to upgrade approximately 600 miles of existing rail line in South Dakota and Minnesota.

The project would allow DM&E to extend its existing system westward to access coal mines in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming.

Written comments regarding alternatives must be submitted by June 10, 1999. Reply comments are due July 12, 1999.

For further information on how to file comments on alternatives, please telephone the Board's toll-free environmental hotline at 1-877-404-3044.

JOURNAL OF COMMERCE: Railroad group opposes Clinton harbor tax plan

ATLANTA -- The Association of American Railroads added its voice to those of other organizations opposing the Clinton administration's current harbor-maintenance tax proposal.

Speaking at the International Intermodal Expo, AAR President Edward Hamberger said the decision was meant to show solidarity with the American Association of Port Authorities, which also opposes the proposal.

"If it affects the ability of our customers to move freight at a reasonable cost, we'll be with (the AAPA)," Mr. Hamberger said. The railroads carried nearly 6 million container shipments last year. The vast majority of that traffic was international cargo.

Kurt Nagle, president of the AAPA, said his organization's opposition was based on a view that the proposal unfairly saddled ocean lines with costs that some carriers estimate could be $30 million annually.

Mr. Nagle also said that higher costs resulting from the administration's plan could divert cargo to ports outside the United States.