Virginia Governor Announces Railroad Safety and Security Taskforce

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Last edited Tue May 20, 2014, 03:06 PM - Edit history (3)

Edited to change title on account of priorities.

Virginia Governor Announces Railroad Safety and Security Taskforce

May 13th, 2014

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe has announced the creation of the Commonwealth’s Railroad Safety and Security Taskforce, which will include state officials and subject matter experts who will be responsible for making recommendations and taking action to ensure the protection of lives, property and the environment along the state’s rail lines. The Governor’s announcement follows the derailment of a CSX freight train in downtown Lynchburg, Va., on April 30, 2014. The train was transporting crude oil from the Midwest to Yorktown.

NTSB inspection of Lynchburg derailment. Photo: courtesy of NTSB.

The NTSB inspectors are checking the gauge of the track. The tracks there are continuous welded rail (CWR) with wooden ties. The rails are held in place with Pandrol clips. Big version

Virginia Gov. McAuliffe creates rail safety task force after CSX crude-train accident

Rail News: Safety 5/12/2014

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Friday announced the creation of a Railroad Safety and Security Task Force that includes state agency officials and subject matter experts.

Moran, Layne to head Virginia’s rail safety task force

The governor appointed them to the panel formed after a train derailed in Lynchburg last month.

Posted: Thursday, May 15, 2014 10:24 pm

By Olympic Meola | Richmond Times-Dispatch

Virginia’s secretaries of Transportation, Public Safety and Homeland Security will co-chair the state’s Railroad Safety and Security Task Force established following the train derailment in Lynchburg that ended with cars carrying crude oil falling into the James River.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Thursday announced leadership of the interagency panel that will also include representatives from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the Virginia Department of Fire Programs, the State Corporation Commission, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Virginia State Police.

The task force, which will hold its inaugural meeting at 1 p.m. on June 4, will solicit input from the public and present recommended state and federal actions intended to prevent future accidents and ensure the state is prepared should one occur.

The tanker car derailment April 30 in Lynchburg raised concerns over the potential threat to public water supplies in the Richmond area and the ecology of the James River. The CSX train was carrying 105 tanker cars of crude oil from shale fields in North Dakota to Yorktown.

Gallery of train derailment photos, from the Lynchburg News & Advance