UTU News Digest - Monday, March 1, 1999

UTU Daily News Digest

Information of interest to operating railroad and transportation employees

Monday, March 1, 1999

Feds say safety should be factor in future rail mergers

DALLAS -- Federal regulators plan to review future railroad mergers for potential safety problems in hopes of avoiding the crisis that struck rail giant Union Pacific after it absorbed Southern Pacific.

During a two-day National Transportation Safety Board hearing that concluded Thursday in downtown Dallas, many witnesses complained about safety meltdowns after a merger.

"Mergers cannot be made and decided upon without an intense review of the safety implications," testified Jolene Molitoris, the Federal Railroad Administrator.

The Federal Railroad Administration proposed on Dec. 31 a rule change that would require a safety plan in all proposed mergers.

Union Pacific Vice Chairman Jerry Davis said his employees experienced a "loss of focus" because of complications with the merger, and he advised future partners to "move at a very slow pace."

The federal government in 1996 approved a $5.4 billion merger between Union Pacific and Southern Pacific, creating the nation's largest railroad.

Union Pacific suffered a string of fatal accidents the next year, including a crash in Devine that killed four people on board. Nine employees died in collisions that year.

Criticized by federal regulators for a "fundamental breakdown" in safety, the railroad has since hired and trained 6,000 new employees and allowed dispatchers more time to study the territory they control.

Union Pacific had no fatal train- to-train collisions last year.

The FRA blames Union Pacific's pervious problems on a poorly implemented merger, specifically citing incompatible computer databases and inadequately trained dispatchers.

Similar computer problems cropped up when the Burlington Northern and Atchison, Topeka Santa Fe Railway combined in 1995.

The concerns preoccupied NTSB members during the two-day hearing in part because Conrail, a large East Coast railroad, is in the process of being disassembled and parceled off to the Norfolk Southern and CSX railroads.

Byron Boyd, assistant president of the United Transportation Union, said a spate of accidents earlier this year on Conrail seemed linked to what he called "a state of flux."

"It doesn't give one a very comfortable feeling," he said of the accidents. "It is really difficult to get anything done, and that is reminiscent of what you saw here (with Union Pacific) and I am really concerned."

Transportation experts are beginning to pay more attention to how a change in management can affect safety.

"Mergers are a major safety factor," said Jim Burnett, a former NTSB member from 1981 to 1991, who attended the hearings but did not testify. "You've got different cultures that need to be combined. We are just beginning to see how difficult that really is."

He cited the example of Delta Airlines, which experienced a major crash soon after completing a 1987 merger with Western Airlines.

Burnett, now a consultant in Arkansas, said safety, in addition to competitive issues, should be considered when the federal government is examining a proposed merger.

Merged companies should be monitored as well to ensure they are building a culture of safety.

Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said vigilance was important. "When you are in a merger, you are looking at putting the computer systems and labor agreements together," he said. "I think what we've learned is that at the same time you have to continue to reinforce the safety policies."

Rail union critical of Sandusky ticket plan

SANDUSKY -- Railroad union officials say the city's new law that allows police to ticket train crew members for blocking crossings could be illegal, but Sandusky officials say they are willing to take the risk to make crossings safer for children.

The Sandusky City Commission approved an ordinance last week that could penalize train conductors and engineers if their trains block crossings for more than five minutes. The law affects all city crossings but was spurred by concerns for the safety of children who sometimes climb between stopped Conrail cars at the Mills Street crossing as they walk home from school.

Residents have been complaining that crossings at Mills and Edgewater Avenue have been blocked for longer than 30 minutes at times.

Under state law, citations for blocked train crossings should be sent to a freight agent or ticket master in the county where the incident occurs. Erie County doesn't have a Conrail freight agent; the closest one is in Lorain.

The city is hoping to get Conrail to stop blocking the crossings by ticketing crew members instead. The citation would be a third-degree misdemeanor carrying a maximum fine of $500 and 60 days in jail.

City Law Director Don Icsman said he believes the city ordinance is legal because he patterned the law after one in Hilliard, Ohio, that has been used since about 1980. He also used a similar ordinance in North Ridgeville, Ohio, as a blueprint.

David Eden, a spokesman with the United Transportation Union in Cleveland, which represents railroad employees, said he doesn't believe the city can change the ticketing procedure in state law.

"It would be immediately challenged and the precedent (of state law) would basically strike down the ordinance," Eden said.

"I would say it would be challenged not only by the labor union that represents (train crews) but also by the rail companies that they work for," he said.

"It is my belief if the city of Sandusky enacts this ordinance it would ultimately be thrown out" in a court case, Eden said.

Conrail officials also believe the new city law is wrong to target train crews.

Bob Libkind, a Conrail spokesman in Philadelphia, said train crews are often merely following the orders of their train dispatcher and the railroad's management when they stop trains.

Libkind said Conrail would rather focus on finding ways to alleviate the blocking of crossings by trying to stop trains west of the city. Of Sandusky's new ordinance, he said, "It's very rare."

Libkind said Conrail has to stop trains because of switching related to pickups and deliveries for Sandusky customers. Rail union and city officials have said they believe trains also stop and pull to the side to allow faster passenger or express trains to pass through. City officials have said they believe rail companies use maintenance or problems related to a train's air brakes as a reason for stopping.

Eden said the city law is "trying to penalize the wrong people. ...I don't think the (city) wants to fine hard-working union members."

Icsman said the city had no choice but to be stricter than state law.

Hilliard's law allows police to ticket the conductor or crewmember in charge of the train. North Ridgeville has a similar law but it makes the violation a first-degree misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $1,000 and six months in jail.

Icsman conceded union officials could argue Sandusky isn't allowed to be more strict than the state law, "but in the meantime you have to balance the safety of the children and the fact that these crossings are being blocked against sitting and doing nothing while ... the children cross between the cars -- I don't think it's even a close choice."

In Oregon, Ohio, a rail company took the community to court for an ordinance that made it a violation to block crossings for more than five minutes, while making the fine stiffer than the maximum fine for a state violation -- up to $3,000 instead of $100.

U.S. District Judge David Katz in Toledo ruled in favor of Norfolk & Western on the basis that a federal rail safety law pre-empted state law.

Katz accepted the railroad's position that an U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against the city of Plymouth, Mich., applied in the Oregon case. The appeals court in that case found that, although a city law may not specifically refer to rail safety, the federal law prevails.

Though the Ohio law that was similar to Oregon's is in effect and was not challenged, the state's law is not pre-empted by the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970, while municipal laws are, Katz declared.

Oregon lost an appeal but may appeal again, said Oregon Councilman Mike Sheehy.

When asked if the Oregon case could mean Sandusky's law could be challenged, Icsman said, "I'm not going to say it isn't possible; it could be struck down legally but I think the (city commission) felt the safety of the citizens isn't something that should be put at risk."

NTSB wants tougher bus brake inspections

WASHINGTON -- The National Transportation Safety Board renewed its call Friday for better brake inspections of buses and warnings about driver fatigue, citing two bus crashes in 1995 and 1997.

In letters to the transportation secretary, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the American Bus Association, among others, the safety board said the crashes in Indianapolis and Stony Creek, Va., show the need for sleep programs, better scheduling and passenger safety briefings.

On Oct. 15, 1995, a motorcoach operated by Hammond Yellow Coach Line Inc. overturned on an Interstate 70 exit ramp, killing two people and injuring 39. The bus had been carrying a high school booster club.

At the time of the crash, the driver had been awake 16.5 hours and on duty 11 hours and had driven about 7.5 hours over that span.

On June 29, 1997, a motorcoach operated by Rite-Way Transportation Inc. drifted off the side of Interstate 95 near Stony Creek, Va., killing one person and injuring 31 others. The bus had been carrying members of a Pathways to Freedom tour group.

In that case, the driver had his duty-sleep periods inverted on successive nights of the tour. In the 24 hours before the crash, the driver had not had any bed rest and probably obtained only two hours of "split sleep" -- rest accumulated through naps, the board said.

In both cases, the buses also had brakes with problems so severe they met the federal criteria to be placed out of service.

"These accidents involved factors that the safety board has repeatedly identified as issues in accidents and that have the potential for catastrophic consequences," wrote Jim Hall, chairman of the safety board.

In his letter, however, Hall conceded that the federal government is already moving on the safety issues. The Federal Highway Administration has set a goal of educating all 7 million holders of the commercial drivers license on recognizing the signs of fatigue and getting adequate rest.

Also, the $203 billion highway bill signed into law last year by President Clinton provides for the Transportation Department to assess how shippers and others purposely or inadvertently encourage drivers to violate hour-of-service rules.

Officials from the federal Office of Motor Carriers and the Michigan Department of Transportation had also cited both carriers on repeated occasions for faulty equipment or driving practices.

Woman seeks $600 million for losing leg in commuter train accident

CHICAGO -- A Chicago jury has finished its first full day of deliberations on whether a young violinist should be awarded the astronomical figure she is seeking after losing her leg in a 1995 commuter train accident.

Deliberations are set to resume today as jurors try to decide who's to blame for the accident that severed the leg of Rachel Barton.

Barton, 24, is suing the railroad for as much as $593 million dollars in punitive and compensatory damages. Metra, Chicago's suburban commuter rail agency, says the violinist is at fault and should only receive $5 million.

Barton says the railroad was negligent in January 1995 when the doors closed on her violin case, dragging her more than 360 feet. Her lawyer is seeking at least $65 million for pain, suffering and medical expenses.

Lawyers for Metra say Barton is to blame, because she could have escaped by removing the strap of her 1617 Amati violin case, and getting away from the train. They say she risked her life for the violin.

In closing arguments Friday, Metra's lawyer portrayed Barton as a greedy person who "has a wonderful life."

C. Barry Montgomery said, "She can do the thing she loves the most: play the violin."

Barton's lawyer, Robert Clifford, said Metra has a history of closing doors on riders, and showing disregard for their safety. Barton continues to perform in a wheelchair, and she has a CD scheduled for release on a Chicago label in July.

Cleveland plans how to spend money it will get from railroads

CLEVELAND -- Cleveland has sketched out plans for spending $20.7 million from CSX and Norfolk Southern to reduce freight train noise and relieve traffic congestion caused by the railroads purchasing and dividing Conrail.

The cost of sound barriers and landscaping will account for $9.1 million of the payment by CSX and Norfolk Southern, under a proposal reviewed last week by City Council's Aviation and Transportation Committee.

Cleveland also anticipates spending $7.6 million to soundproof homes and $1.5 million to give city safety forces the training and equipment to deal with hazardous material emergencies. Another $2.5 million will be spent on improving the Mill Creek Waterfall area and the African American Cultural Gardens in Rockefeller Park, installing fences next to other parks and setting up a landscape maintenance endowment fund.

The railroads are financing the improvements as part of a negotiated agreement with the communities affected by the acquisitions. Beyond a general budget, Mayor Michael R. White's administration has not detailed where it will put sound barriers and what homes will be insulated from the rattle of trains.

"I am very concerned because . . . as far as I see, there is no plan," said Councilman Roosevelt Coats, whose Euclid Park, Forest Hills, and Collinwood neighborhoods will be among those areas most severely affected by the rail mergers. Traffic on a 22-mile stretch of track from Collinwood to Berea is expected to increase from seven trains daily to between 40 and 44.

"I've got people yelling and screaming about the noise," Coats said. "They're calling the railroads and the railroads say, "Look, we have allocated Cleveland X number of dollars. Don't call us, call Cleveland.' "

Economic Development Director Chris Warren said he would present a detailed spending plan to council by mid-May, after the city consults with residents who live near the rail lines. Council will have to authorize the plan.

Councilman Martin J. Sweeney from the Puritas-Longmead area said neighborhood meetings are imperative to find out what residents want in place to ease noise and traffic tie-ups. The administration's preliminary plan emphasizes protecting those residents who live within 75 feet of rail tracks.

"Each council representative has in their own head their own concrete plan for the needs of their people," said Sweeney, vice chairman of the Transportation Committee.

CSX and Norfolk Southern are to pay the noise mitigation money in annual installments over five years. But Councilman Edward W. Rybka, whose Broadway-Fleet ward will be hit with heavier rail traffic, said he wanted the city to work out a way to tap the dollars as quickly as possible so the neighborhoods don't suffer. Warren said the city might figure out a financing plan to make the money available sooner.

In addition to $20.7 million that Cleveland can use at its discretion, the railroads are making capital improvements, such as a $1.5 million Norfolk-Southern investment to build underpasses where its track crosses Nottingham and London roads in northeastern Cleveland.

Collinwood Councilman Michael D. Polensek said he was satisfied the underpasses would ease a traffic bottleneck on those roads, which are used by commuters heading into Euclid and Richmond Heights.

"If the underpasses are not constructed . . . it would be virtually impossible to move north and south," he said.

US rail freight volumes show early sign of upturn

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Friday's report on weekly freight loadings by major U.S. railroads revealed the best showing in months for an early indicator of basic industrial activity.

Hauls of scrap, the cheapest of raw materials and highly sensitive to whether domestic factory demand is rising or falling, hit its strongest weekly volume since Oct. 3 and moved ahead of year-earlier levels for the first time since Sept. 26.

The strength in scrap shipments implies that factories trying to keep up with new orders may be now moving past their inventories of previously produced goods. It also suggests manufacturers may be using up on-site stockpiles on raw materials and starting to need at least the most basic input materials.

The data from the Association of American Railroads, for volumes moved by railcar in the week ended Feb. 20, does not break down the scrap category into its differing types of materials. But it includes such cargoes as metals, paper, cardboard and even a minor amount of plastic.

The AAR said major US rail lines hauled 10,164 railcar loads of waste and scrap materials last week, a 2.2% gain over the same 1998 week. Until last week, that category was so negative that for the first 7 weeks of 1999 scrap loadings are 8.3% lower than in 1998.

Many types of factory products are made from scrap, because collecting and re-manufacturing discard materials is still cheaper than buying virgin materials. But many products must also blend the scrap with new material, so if the factory activity level continues to rise, rail volumes should soon pick up for a wider range of basic cargoes.

The stronger scrap volume also corresponds with a mild improvement in last week's US raw steel production, reported by the American Iron and Steel Institute. Steel output of course still trails the 1998 pace by about 13%, but last week's production rose 2.2% from Feb 13. And steelmakers used 80% of their capacity from 78.3% in the Feb 13 week.

If the scrap and steel output indicators are finally both showing some mild bounce after months of weakness, it hasn't yet come through in other steel-related rail freight.

6 Arrested as Protesters Disrupt Rail-Line Meeting

PASADENA -- Calling the Pasadena light-rail line's construction racist and illegal, more than 50 protesters Wednesday night halted a meeting of the line's new governing authority before police broke up the demonstration and arrested six people.

More than a dozen Pasadena police officers took the leaders of Bus Riders Union, a passenger rights group, away in handcuffs after members, chanting and banging drums and tambourines, forced the Pasadena Blue Line Construction Authority to adjourn for 20 minutes.

Bus Riders leader Martin Hernandez called the five-member board an "illegitimate body" and demanded it be dismantled.

The group contends that the newly formed Blue Line Authority was designed to circumvent a consent decree the group signed with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to reduce overcrowding and improve bus service.

A new state law stripped the MTA of the responsibility for building the Pasadena rail line and gave it to the Blue line authority. The MTA now plans to give the authority more than $300 million, money the Bus Riders Union wants spent on buses.

Authority Chairman Paul Little and other officials contend that most of the Pasadena line users will be minorities. The 13.6-mile line will run from Union Station through Chinatown, Lincoln Heights, Highland Park, South Pasadena to Pasadena.

Rail safety group's support questioned

WASHINGTON -- Rockville Mayor Rose Krasnow and a number of other local officials across the country got a surprise this week, the Washington Post reported.

They discovered they were being touted as "supporters" of RailWatch, a nonprofit organization that is demanding that Congress investigate the rail industry's "alarming safety record."

The new group, which is "dedicated to educating the public about railroad safety," named Krasnow and 300 other local officials as its supporters at a news conference held in Washington last week.

"I didn't know I belonged," Krasnow said when asked why she had agreed to endorse a group that would not disclose its financial backers nor register to lobby. Like many of the listed RailWatch supporters, all Krasnow could remember was stopping by a booth about rail safety at a National League of Cities meeting in Kansas City, Mo., in December. There she said she was worried about the safety of railroad crossings and gave the people in the booth her name and title. "It wasn't an official action by Rockville," she said.

What Krasnow and many others who stopped at the RailWatch booth did not know was that the group was funded largely by United Parcel Service, which has fought with railroads over the use of so-called triple-trailer trucks. The rail industry wants to restrict the use of triple-trailer trucks, which UPS operates.

RailWatch was formed by Woodward & McDowell, a California public relations firm that has backed trucking causes. When told that trucking interests could be behind RailWatch, Krasnow said, "That could be an issue of concern."

A UPS official expressed concern yesterday over the way the names of local officials apparently had been gathered, worrying that RailWatch might be considered a case of what Washington lobbyists call "Astroturf lobbying," the creation of a bogus "grass-roots" support group.

UPS spokesman Tad Segal said the company never tried to mask its financial support of RailWatch, but he would not say how much money UPS gave the organization. He referred questions to RailWatch and the California PR firm.

RailWatch Executive Director Sherry Kiesling Fox and Nick DeLuca, a Woodward & McDowell representative, declined to answer questions about the group's financial backers.

Fox said the officials had signed forms at the booth agreeing to lend their names to the effort. But many officials apparently left business cards that were stapled to the forms. The Houston Chronicle and Traffic World, a Washington-based transportation newsletter, have reported that many of the listed local officials said they had no idea their names were being used to attack railroads.

"This is not the sort of tactics that should be used," Segal said yesterday. "I want to make it clear that UPS does not condone this."

Fox, who used to work in the Farm Bureau Federation's Washington office, said the group didn't have to file a lobby registration despite its advocacy of congressional action against the railroads. "I'm not a lobbyist," said Fox.

Thomas Hiltachk, a Sacramento lawyer who serves on the group's board, said that RailWatch's secrecy is legal because it is not directly contacting members of Congress about its claim that railroads are dangerous, only urging the public to contact Congress.

Fox did reveal that the group's five-member board also includes Ken Churchill, Washington vice president for UPS; Nels Ackerson, a Washington lawyer who has sued railroads; Robert Bartlett, the mayor of Monrovia, Calif.; and Barbara Simpson, a California "consumer reporter." Segal of UPS was upset that the rail safety issue has been obscured by the controversy over the group. He said, "It does not have to be Astroturf lobbying."

Train kills man in Meriden

MERIDEN, Conn. -- Police in Meriden want to know why a city man was walking on the railroad tracks early yesterday when he was struck and killed by an Amtrak train.

Fifty-five-year-old Benjamin Torres was pronounced dead at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford after the accident. The train's conductor was shaken to the point he needed treatment for chest pains at a local hospital. There were no other injuries.

STB sets dates and times for arguments on CN-IC merger

WASHINGTON -- The Surface Transportation Board (STB) announced procedures, apportioned times for oral argument, and a voting conference later this month to consider the proposed $2.4 billion merger of Canadian National Railway and Illinois Central Corp.

The oral argument is set for March 18, the voting conference for March 25. The STB promised a final written decision by May 25.

The proposed merger would create a massive North American rail network that would operate between both Canadian coasts and the Gulf of Mexico.

Oral arguments will include a total of 150 minutes for presentations by the applicants, opponents and others interested in the proceeding. That allocation does not include the time for commissioners' questions.

The applicants were awarded 55 minutes to make their case, including any rebuttal time. Kansas City Southern Railway Co., which has a long-term marketing alliance with CN-IC, will have 10 minutes.

Union Pacific Railroad, which opposes the merger, was given 12 minutes to make its case, while Canadian Pacific Railway and its affiliates were granted six minutes. A company called Ontario Michigan Rail Corp. that has proposed a new rail tunnel in the Detroit area also received six minutes.

Government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Transportation and North Dakota transportation officials, have 13 minutes.

Shipper interests, including the National Industrial Transportation League and three individual chemical companies, were allowed 21 minutes.

Rail labor has 27 minutes. Two unions have agreed to support the transaction, but other labor groups are seeking conditions.

The Board issued the schedule of speakers and time allocations in Decision No. 32 issued to the public today, February 25, 1999, in STB Finance Docket No. 33556. Printed copies of the written decision referred to in this news release are available for a fee by contacting: DC News & Data, Inc., Room 210, 1925 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20006, telephone (202) 289-4357 or (202) 463-8112. The decision is available for viewing and downloading via the Board's Website at www.stb.dot.gov.

SCHEDULE OF APPEARANCES: MARCH 18, 1999

Canadian National Railway Company 55 minutes

Grand Trunk Corporation, Grand Trunk Western Railroad Incorporated, Illinois Central Corporation, Illinois Central Railroad Company, Chicago, Central and Pacific Railroad Company, and Cedar River Railroad Company

SUPPORTING RAILROAD

The Kansas City Southern Railway Company 10 minutes

OTHER RAILROADS

Union Pacific Railroad Company 12 minutes

Canadian Pacific Railway Company and St. Lawrence and Hudson Railway Company Limited 6 minutes

Ontario Michigan Rail Corporation 6 minutes

Total: 24 minutes

FEDERAL/STATE GOVERNMENT PARTIES

U.S. Department of Transportation 8 minutes

North Dakota Public Service Commission, North Dakota Department of Transportation, and North Dakota Department of Agriculture 5 minutes

Total: 13 minutes

SHIPPER ORGANIZATION

The National Industrial Transportation League 6 minutes

SHIPPER PARTIES

Exxon Chemical Americas 5 minutes

Rubicon Inc. and Uniroyal Chemical Company, Inc. 5 minutes

Vulcan Chemicals 5 minutes

Total: 15 minutes

LABOR PARTIES

American Train Dispatchers Department--BLE, and The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 4 minutes

Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes 4 minutes

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers 4 minutes

Transportation Communications International Union 5 minutes

United Transportation Union 10 minutes

Total: 27 minutes

REBUTTAL: The primary applicants are allotted the unused portion of their 55 minutes argument time for rebuttal.

RailTex chairman steps down

SAN ANTONIO -- Bruce Flohr, founder of short- line railroad company RailTex Inc., has stepped down as its chairman. Flohr will take on the title of chairman emeritus and retain a seat on the board, the San Antonio- based company said Thursday.

Ron Rittenmeyer, who joined RailTex last August as president and chief executive officer, replaces Flohr as chairman. "Bruce has made it clear that by the time he turns 60, he wants to be out of the day-to-day business of the company," said Joseph P. Jahnke, RailTex's vice president and chief financial officer. "This was all part of the plan."

Flohr, who will be 60 in August, founded RailTex in 1977 as a rail- car leasing company. As its long-time chairman and CEO, Flohr oversaw the company's growth into a leading operator of short-line railroads.

Rittenmeyer joined RailTex after a 10-month CEO search. He previously served as president and chief operating officer of truck- rental company Ryder TRS. RailTex operates about 4,200 miles of track in North America. It also owns stakes in two Brazilian railroads and operates a line in Kazakhstan.