Railroad safety bill introduced in the wake of multiple derailments in Colorado

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - A new train safety bill in the Colorado legislature, if passed, would require railroads to be equipped with more safety features, limit the length and weight of trains carrying hazardous materials and will also limit the time that trains can block major intersections while passing.

Colorado State Senator Tony Exum, a prime sponsor of HB24-1030, says he had been working on the bill for over a year before the deadly derailment north of Pueblo on I-25 northbound in October.

"There were some conversations about rail safety last year, long before the derailment [about] what could be done," Exum said.

His concern is primarily for the safety of the people involved in these operations. Exum also said that these kinds of derailments can financially impact businesses and trade on major thoroughfares.

"When that rail derailment happened, that impacted a lot of communities and a lot of goods and services that would have been delivered because of the detour," Exum said.

The detours caused by the deadly train derailment north of Pueblo around took anywhere from thirty to forty-five minutes while crews were cleaning up the coal that had spilled on the highway.

The solution, according to a bill fact sheet, is more complex than it may seem.

• Prevent the railroad from carrying hazardous materials on any train longer than 8,500 feet.
• Prevent the railroad from blocking crossings at grade for longer than 10 minutes.
• Require hot bearing and dragging detectors every 10 miles that notify the crew on the train of problems (not just the operation center).
• Allow a union representative access to all accidents (as defined by the FRA).
• Mandate minimum insurance requirements for railroads carrying hazardous materials.
• Require railroads to provide training and safety drills to respond to a hazardous material

Senator Exum says currently, there are no Federal Railroad Administration requirements that meet these standards set out in the bill's language. If railroads or train companies fail to meet these requirements, they will have to pay a fine, which Senator Exum says will go to improving rail safety on the Front Range.

As the bill goes through review over the next few weeks, Senator Exum said a potential hang-up could be the limit on train length when transporting hazardous materials.

"Our goal is to make sure it has a fair hearing and folks from both sides get a chance to weigh in," Exum said.

HB24-1030 will go to its first committee hearing on Feb. 7.