Editorial: Railroad crossings at risk

Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2005 | 9:35 a.m.

We are outraged by a report documenting that of 3,045 train crashes last year at railroad crossings around the country, only nine were investigated by the Federal Railroad Administration. The report was released by the inspector general's office of the Transportation Department.

Every single accident at a railroad crossing should be investigated by the Railroad Administration, just as the National Transportation Safety Board investigates all plane crashes. Local investigators will document the time of the crash, the extent of the damage and the number of injuries. But it takes a federal investigation to determine why the accident took place and what safety measures need to be taken to ensure against a recurrence.

Hazardous materials are aboard trains every day, which means there is the potential for whole communities to be affected by crossing accidents. It is unconscionable for the federal government to be neglecting this critical responsibility.

The report brings to mind Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, where the federal government wants to bury high-level nuclear waste -- and ship most of it there by rail. Federal neglect of the railroads is just one reason -- among dozens -- to shut the Yucca project down.