[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 158 (Thursday, October 18, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2176-E2177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            FEDERAL RAILROAD SAFETY IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 17, 2007

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2095) to, 
     amend title 49, United States Code, to prevent railroad 
     fatalities, injuries, and hazardous materials releases, to 
     authorize the Federal Railroad Safety Administration, and for 
     other purposes:

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the 
Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007, H.R. 2095, authored by 
Congressman James Oberstar, Chairman of the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure, and Congresswoman Corrine Brown, Chairwoman of the 
Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
  This legislation, which I believe adequately balances overdue safety 
improvements with the need to keep commerce moving, is the first 
significant rail safety legislation to come before the House since the 
most recent authorization of federal safety programs expired nearly 10 
years ago.

[[Page E2177]]

  I am proud to be a co-sponsor of this measure and I applaud the 
dedicated leadership that has brought this legislation to the floor 
today.
  Particular attention should be given to the measures included in H.R. 
2095--and in the manager's amendment also under consideration--that 
address the unique safety concerns associated with railroad tunnels and 
bridges.
  On July 18, 2001, a CSX train traveling through the Howard Street 
Tunnel in my district in Baltimore derailed, puncturing several tank 
cars and igniting a flammable liquid that created a massive fire.
  Following that terrible accident, I joined Chairman Oberstar in 
requesting the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to undertake a 
study on railroad tunnel and bridge safety. This study was released on 
August 30th of this year.
  In brief, the study found that Class I railroads own and maintain 
more than 61,000 bridges and more than 800 tunnels--while Class II 
railroads own and maintain more than 15,000 bridges. These are 
staggering numbers that clearly demonstrate how important the safety of 
these pieces of infrastructure is to the operation of our Nation's rail 
network.
  The legislation and manager's amendment before us today address 
concerns raised both in the GAO report and in the National 
Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) report on the Howard Street Tunnel 
fire.
  Section 609 of the underlying bill, which I offered as an amendment 
during the Committee markup of this legislation, is intended to ensure 
that the first responders called to incidents in rail tunnels have all 
of the information they need to provide an effective response to the 
situation they encounter.
  Section 609 responds directly to the NTSB's findings in its 
investigation of the Howard Street Tunnel fire that Baltimore City 
first responders did not have adequate information on hazardous 
discharge procedures in the Tunnel or on ingress and egress pathways 
into and out of the Tunnel.
  To ensure that such a situation is never repeated, Section 609 
requires railroads to make available to local jurisdictions information 
on rail tunnel ingress and egress pathways and on the types of cargoes 
transported through long tunnels or tunnels through which more than 5 
passenger trains per day or more than 500 carloads of toxic inhalation 
materials per year are moved.
  The manager's amendment before us responds directly to the findings 
of the recent GAO report by imposing significant new safety 
requirements on railroads regarding the assessment of bridge weight 
bearing capacity and bridge inspection procedures.
  Additionally, it imposes new requirements on the review of bridge 
inspection data by the Federal Railroad Administration.
  Through these measures, the manager's amendment seeks to create a 
comprehensive safety regime for railroad bridges--which is long 
overdue.
  The measures in H.R. 2095 on railroad tunnels and bridges are just 
two of the many safety improvements that this bill would make in the 
operation of our Nation's railroad network--but are examples of how 
this bill responds directly to the safety concerns that have been 
identified since the last reauthorization of the Federal Railroad 
Administration.
  I am confident that enactment of H.R. 2095 will significantly improve 
the safety of rail operations in the United States. I again thank 
Chairman Oberstar--and Chairwoman Brown--for their work on this measure 
and I urge its passage.

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