We’ve Been Railroaded!

October 20, 2004 -- We've been railroaded. We've been run over by a profit-driven locomotive that cares little about safety. Union Pacific has made promises to the city and county that it cannot be trusted to keep. After four train derailments in five months, UP said it will make rails safer. Don't count on it.

After chlorine gas killed three people in one accident, UP said it is increasing training for its workers. Don't bother to celebrate.

After 5,600 gallons of diesel fuel spilled along the San Antonio River, UP said it will consider rerouting rails away from downtown. Don't get your hopes up.

UP has a track record of terror on the rails. It has a record of lying. It has a history of covering up accidents. It has a habit of destroying evidence while defending itself against multimillion-dollar lawsuits. Here are the facts: From 2001 through July of this year, Union Pacific averaged 2.3 accidents per day -- and 54.4 derailments per month. According to the Federal Railroad Administration Web site, the nation's largest railroad is responsible for 26.3 percent of all railroad accidents and 28.5 percent of all derailments.

When it comes to disaster, too, UP can say, "We're No. 1."

Sometimes, UP does not report collisions. According to the New York Times, UP failed in 2003 to report 46 fatal accidents to the National Response Center. Over the past few years, at least seven  state and federal courts have sanctioned Union Pacific for destroying or  failing to preserve evidence in accidents, the Times said. In 2002, a jury awarded an Arkansas man $2 million after a UP train crashed into his car, killing his wife and leaving him brain-damaged. The judge ruled that UP "routinely" destroyed documents relevant to the lawsuit.

The same year, Union Pacific settled with the family of a Washington man killed by a UP train at a rail crossing. Initially, UP blamed the fatality on the victim and asked that the family pay for the loss of train cars and equipment. But UP's defense collapsed during court proceedings. UP, for example, failed to disclose a manufacturer had said 12  years earlier that parts in a warning signal needed to be replaced because  they might be defective. A UP manager went to the accident scene and replaced old  warning signal parts with new parts.

Union Pacific has an abysmal inspection  record. According to the Federal Railroad Administration Web site, 4,978 defects have been found this year in the power brakes of UP trains. Another 7,318  defects have been found in the safety appliances of UP trains. Inspectors who either walked or rode rail cars to inspect  UP tracks found 5,642 defects through the first 101/2 months of the year. The Web site does not explain the defects or categorize them as major or minor. But it's clear that defects lead to  accidents. Earlier this year, UP settled a lawsuit in Eunice, La., involving a derailment and hazardous chemical spill that forced the  evacuation of 3,500 residents.

The National Transportation Safety Board criticized UP for "ineffective track inspection procedures and inadequate  management oversight." In another case, a jury awarded an Arkansas man  $30 million for injuries suffered when a UP train struck him in a truck at a  dangerous crossing with overgrown vegetation. The railroad company appealed.  The Arkansas Supreme Court upheld the verdict and castigated UP for putting "profits before public  safety." Elizabeth Hardy, a Louisiana attorney, testified in the same  case that UP has an established pattern and practice of failing to preserve relevant evidence. In a copy of a sworn affidavit she e-mailed to  me, Hardy said "the railroad risked the chance that its failure to produce  evidence would have less economic detriment than providing the documents or information requested."

The bottom line for Union Pacific is making  money. UP reported profits of $323 million during the first half of this year, down from $717 million over the same period in 2003. UP can say all it wants  about improving rail safety. But the truth of its concern is in the bank. (From the San Antonio Express-News)

Posted: 10/21/04