Review sought of railroad inspections
Residents, lawmaker seek PUC intervention
People who live along rail lines in the region and state Sen. Wayne Fontana want the state Public Utility Commission to review whether Norfolk Southern responds adequately to its own bridge and track inspections.
The residents said in a news release Monday that last year’s freight train derailment above Station Square — which the railroad said occurred within a week of track inspection — and a sinkhole recently discovered near the Merchant Street Bridge on the North Side have shaken their confidence in the railroad’s inspection system. Mr. Fontana, D-Brookline, sent the PUC a letter last week asking the agency to consider intervening to make sure the railroad is following up on inspections promptly.
“Obviously, if you see a sinkhole next to tracks, and you know there was a derailment last year at Station Square, you get concerned,” Mr. Fontana said in an interview Monday. “I wanted to bring this issue to the attention of the PUC to see if they could get involved with an investigation or review.”
Officials of the commission, which is reviewing railroad plans to raise two North Side bridges and lower another to allow the use of double-stacked cars, were unavailable to comment Monday due to the Presidents Day holiday. The railroad said in a statement that safe rail operations are its top priority. It said the sinkhole was fixed quickly, and the bridge that carries trains over Merchant Street is structurally sound now and is scheduled for replacement in the next few years.
Residents have formed a group, Rail Pollution Protection Pittsburgh, to fight the railroad’s plans to use a $20 million state grant to upgrade 14 bridges throughout Allegheny County to allow the double-stacked cars. The railroad wants to establish a second,
shorter route for doublestacked cars that would go through the North Side and eastern suburbs, doubling the amount of trains there to as many as 50 a day, as an alternative to the route through Station Square and southern suburbs.
The group’s spokesman, Glenn Olcerst, said in a news release that 209,000 people live or work within a half mile of the double-stack route, which already carries trains with crude oil and other hazardous material. That’s why members are concerned about the Merchant Street Bridge, which is near the Clark Building on the North Shore, even before double-stacked cars are used.
“Given the length of these oil trains, a derailment at Merchant Street could jeopardize not only people but our rivers,” he said.
The request for PUC intervention follows concerns two weeks ago by the Port Authority, which also questioned railroad inspections. The authority, which is seeking reimbursement for $3 million in damage to its light rail tracks after the Station Square derailment, operates the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway along Norfolk Southern tracks from Downtown Pittsburgh to Rankin.
In its statement, the railroad said it complies with Federal Railroad Administration inspection requirements, adding, “it’s both good business and a commitment we make as a responsible corporate neighbor.”
“When inspection crews discover a condition that requires repair or maintenance, the railroad takes action,” the statement said.
The railroad said crews earlier this month discovered what it called “a small loss of ballast” through a small gap between two spans of the Merchant Street Bridge, closed the gap with concrete and replaced the ballast. The railroad has identified the bridge for replacement in the next few years, but it is not part of the $20 million state grant.
The grant, awarded in April 2017, calls for raising the level of bridges at Pennsylvania and West North avenues and the lowering of the track bed at Columbus Avenue on the North Side to accommodate doublestacked cars. The civic group wants the railroad to lower all the track, but Norfolk Southern says that would cost five to six times the cost of raising bridges.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has a consultant reviewing whether the bridges would remain safe for motorists and pedestrians if they are raised.
Mr. Fontana said the railroad hadn’t been responsive to his or the neighbors’ concerns.
“It’s always not easy to sit down with the railroad,” he said. “I don’t think anybody’s happy with the response from the railroad.”