LA GRANGE, Ky. — The train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, cast a spotlight on railroad safety and staffing resources. And earlier this month, a train derailed in Hardin County, only making that spotlight brighter in Kentucky.

What You Need To Know

  • With over 2,600 miles of freight railroad in Kentucky, it’s ever more imperative to keep safety a priority

  • KYTC oversees safety in aspects of posting signage, vehicle traffic, train crossings and maintenance

  • Secretary Jim Gray said while the cabinet focuses on safety, the federal government oversees train transportation and its cargo

  • A former locomotive engineer also shared his perspective 

The Federal Railroad Administration reported 55 train derailments just last year in Kentucky. With over 2,600 miles of freight railroad in Kentucky, it’s ever more imperative to keep safety a priority.

Kentucky railroads fall under the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. They oversee safety in aspects of posting signage, vehicle traffic, train crossings, and maintenance.

Secretary of Transportation Jim Gray said while the cabinet focuses on safety, the federal government oversees train transportation and its cargo.

“The Federal Railroad Administration actually has the responsibility across the nation for our railroads and particularly for safety. Now where the State comes into play and into responsibility at all really has to do with monitoring, and especially of our crossings,” Gray said.

Any incidents that take place at a Kentucky railroad get reported to the Federal Railroad Administration within the U.S. Department of Transportation, Gray explained.

“When we think about it, most railroads, of course, are involved in interstate commerce between states, among states,” Gray said. “Yes, there are some railroads that are within the states, and we have those here. But many and arguably most of the track in the country is between and among states.”

KYTC also adds that a traffic and train study is underway in Glendale prior to the train derailment. It aims to find an alternate solution for trucks to travel through the area.

Jerry Wright began his locomotive engineering career in the late 1970s. He’s calling for more staff on freight trains.

Wright volunteers at the La Grange Railroad Museum & Learning Center. His love for trains formed when he lived in rural Kentucky. So when Wright began his locomotive engineering career, he lived through different standards.

“We used to have four. When I started in 1978, we had four to five people on the train,” Wright said.

Now Wright said it’s usually a conductor and an engineer on freight trains. And that’s all.

“We’re fighting Congress right now and fighting the railroads to keep two men on the train because of all the computer technology, the railroad wants one man on the train,” Wright said.

The former Kentucky railroad employee said it’s keeping public safety in mind by having at least two people manning a train.

“If our train breaks down out here someplace, I can’t drive that train and be back there 3,000 feet and fix that train. I can’t do two things at once,” Wright said.

In February, a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio affected communities up and down the Ohio River, spilling hazardous contents and causing evacuations.

And in Hardin County in mid-March, a train derailed after a semi-tractor trailer stalled on the tracks. All illustrating Wright’s point for safety.

“We need two eyes. We got two sides of the train that we can barely see to begin with,” Wright said. “Our trains are longer than we can see and we need a man on both sides of our train, for safety, for public safety, and our own employee safety.”

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