Railroad Hazards

A story appeared yesterday in the Columbus Dispatch yesterday about a new siren being installed to warn citizens in the event of a train derailment. The siren is the same type found throughout the state for warning people of dangerous storms and other hazards. The Columbus siren is unique in that from the start its primary purpose is to warn of possible hazardous materials from train accidents. The community has been pursuing a siren for ten years according the article at a cost of $25, 000. The city of Columbus partnered with Georgia Pacific (which operates the railroad in the vicinity of the siren) to acquire the new system.

The story reminded me of a railroad crossing in the town I live in. A few years ago, a woman was killed in her car at a railroad crossing. The crossing in on a two-lane country road and does not have a signal, only signs. The accident occurred early in the morning with a heavy fog. The investigators concluded that the driver never saw the train. The accident generated a local effort to have a signal installed at this crossing. Despite the efforts and the potential danger, it will take almost ten years to get a signal installed. First an analysis of the area needs to be done. It takes two to three years to gather the data and assess the type of signal that needs to be installed. It will then take several more years once the signal type is identified to find a funding source (it will cost around $15-25,000 in today’s dollars). I’m not criticizing the railroad or the process, merely pointing out the cost and time required to make things happen.

In the Tri-State area, there are approximately 190 sirens to warn people of storm and other dangers. Replacing just a single siren can run as much as $15,000. Most municipalities have to plan for such a large expenditure in future years as budgets are tight and surpluses are almost unheard of. Obviously a destroyed siren or one needing immediate replacement is eligible for emergency funding yet this still is a time consuming process. People need to be aware of their surroundings and that signaling devices may not exist or may be damaged. Normally, there is some advance notice about storms (such as weather reports) but trains are a sometimes overlooked hazard that may be right outside your door.

Railroads run almost in a parallel universe to the rest of the world. Modern trains move their huge payloads with a silence that belies their mass. Railroads make up a meandering river of steel dissecting the local geography and roadways. It is only when our travel along one of these roadways is blocked at a railroad crossing that we stop to consider modern trains. Many Cincinnatians for example would be very surprised to learn that the Queensgate Yard (which lies west of I-75 and Northwest of Downtown) is one of the largest rail classification facilities in North American. There are over 70 miles of track making up the yard which is over five miles long. Queensgate Yard railroad classification yard is a type known as a “hump yard”. The heart of these yards is the hump: a lead track on a hill (hump) over which the cars are pushed by the engine. Single cars, or some coupled cars in a block, are uncoupled just before or at the crest of the hump and roll by gravity into their destination tracks in the classification bowl (the tracks where the cars are sorted). These are the largest and most effective classification yards with the largest shunting capacity — often several thousand cars a day.

As trains bring cars into the yard, they are sorted and new trains are constructed and sent out. The amount of traffic in and out of the yard is enormous yet most people don’t even realize the magnitude of tonnage being moved every day. The yard doesn’t exist in a vacuum as several lines feed it from the North and South. Each of these lines in turns runs through various communities throughout the Tri-State area. Anywhere along these routes a derailment could mean a potential hazardous material spill. It is surprising at times to see how close railroads run near populated areas. Railroads do a very good job of tracking their freight and maintaining the rails however accidents still happen.

Safety and security professionals need to be aware of the hazardous a nearby rail line can pose. For instance, a security professional at a major corporation may need to consider how to lock down a building in the event a railcar carrying poisonous gas tips over. The public safety director at a retirement community may need to realize a rail line a few miles away could still be close enough to pose an inhalation hazards for the residents. A potential home buyers needs to look at local railroad maps to see where nearby tracks may pass. Trains carry huge amounts of payload, sometimes toxic, which could poison the air or water tables near your home. Community planners need to have evacuation procedures in place in the event of a chemical spill.

The big scenario for most safety and security professionals to strategize is how to handle the detonation of a dirty bomb in their area. The validity of such an exercise varies depending on the locality but there is a much more serious threat that exists. Nuclear waste is often moved by train (sometimes referred to a “glow trains”). For obvious reasons, the information concerning the movement of these trains is classified. Some assumptions though can be made. For instance, due to the high risk of these trains the routes most likely to be followed through remote areas whenever possible. On one hand, this reduces the risk of a radiation hazard in the event of a derailment. On the other hand, these smaller communities are less likely to have the necessary response training and equipment. It seems a more realistic training scenario than would be to train for a potential spill of nuclear waste rather than a dirty bomb.

To bring this all back to where I started, it is more imperative that safety and security professionals (as well as concerned citizens) are aware of the hazardous in their immediate area. Warning sirens and signals may not be available in all cases to warn of the dangers posed by a nearby railroad.