We Won’t Be Railroaded
by Doug La Rocque
The December 19 issue of The Eastwick Press highlighted the efforts by Rensselaer County Legislator Bruce Patire and Hoosick Town Councilman Jerry McAiliffe to have something done about a section of track, owned by Pan Am Railway near Railroad Avenue. A 75-year-old undersized culvert is being undermined by running water, bringing up safety concerns that they feel are going unaddressed by the railway and the NYS Department of Transportation (DOT). At that time, Mr. Patire showed The Eastwick Press a safety inspection report conducted by DOT’s Railroad Safety division, that said while there is movement of the rails when a heavy freight train passes over, it is within tolerable limits as long as the train is not moving any faster than 10 miles per hour. That is something Legislator Patire does not agree with, and is filing an appeal with the railway, DOT and Federal Railroad authorities.
He has been joined in that effort by several other local, county and state officials. On Thursday, March 11, he was accompanied to the site by District 5’s other legislator Jeff Wysocki, State Senator Daphne Jordan and Assemblyman Jake Ashby, as well as town officials, to highlight the continuing problem. In fact, Mr. Patire said since their last visit they have found rail spikes that have worked their way loose because of the severe movement of the tracks. Others, he says, are sticking up 1 to 4 inches from the railbed. He calls that an obvious safety issue that could cause a derailment, impacting several nearby homes. Such an occurrence he contends, could become a catastrophe because several of the rail cars passing over the site contain propane or oil.
Senator Jordan and Assemblyman Ashby have promised to bring whatever influence they can to bear on DOT to address the situation, with Mr. Ashby saying “I am happy to join my colleagues in state and local government to correct this long standing issue.”
The compromised culvert brings with it not only safety concerns, but traffic problems in the village. Mr. Patire has spoken of the backups at rail crossings caused by the trains traveling at 10 miles per hour. He is also concerned about their non-adherence to the speed limit; citing many instances in which he and village residents have reported the trains going much faster than that, particularly in the evening and overnight hours.
A complicating factor is that Pan-Am is in the process of being sold to the much larger rail freight carrier CSX. As of the beginning of the month, the Surface Transportation Board (a federal agency) is still reviewing the sale. It is unclear at this point what action, if any, CSX may take about the culvert situation.