Coalition gangs up to press railroads

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Some South Carolina city government leaders are forming a coalition that they hope will force railroad companies to work more cooperatively with local communities.

"There's a real disconnect between local government and railroads," Orangeburg City Administrator John Yow told officials at a meeting of the Municipal Association of South Carolina last week.

That was highlighted after a train wreck earlier this year in Graniteville, Mr. Yow said. Nine people died Jan. 6 when a Norfolk Southern train crashed into three parked cars, rupturing a tanker that released chlorine gas into the air.

In the event of a disaster, Mr. Yow told government leaders, "it's going to be your police department, your fire department, your EMS responding."

There was a time when railroad companies, which are regulated by the federal government, ignored the concerns of local government, said John Dillard, a spokesman for CSX Transportation. But he said he has seen a "change of attitude at CSX."

Mr. Yow said he and other Orangeburg officials began working to form the coalition out of frustration with railroad companies' response to their concerns about railway speed limits, unsafe crossings and the transportation of hazardous materials. He says he posted a message online asking other municipal officials for advice and quickly got responses from other state officials.

"We were expecting six to eight responses from other cities. We had 25 in just a few days."

The coalition's first meeting drew more than 30 municipal officials. The coalition plans to meet quarterly and will sometimes invite railroad company officials to speak, Mr. Yow said. Though city officials can have little direct effect on railroad policies, Mr. Yow said, they can pressure state and federal officials.

"The only way we can address these issues is through state and federal regulators," he said.