SIGN OF THINGS TO COME. I’M SOLEDAD O’BRIEN. WELCOME TO MATTER OF FACT. THE NATION’S RAILROADS ARE FACING GREATER SCRUTINY AFTER THREE RECENT TRAIN DERAILMENTS. THERE IS GROWING CONCERN ABOUT THE SAFETY AND OVERSIGHT OF THE INDUSTRY. INCLUDE ING THE 140,000 MILES OF TRACK USED TO TRANSPORT FREIGHT ACROSS THE COUNTRY. IT’S ALL OWNED AND MAINTAINED BY PRIVATE COMPANIES WITH OVERSIGHT BY THE NATIONAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION. IF YOU LOOK AT THE LAST DECADE, THERE HAVE BEEN AT LEAST TEN AND MAYBE UP TO 20 DERAILMENTS EACH YEAR INVOLVING THE RELEASE OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS. NOW, AS COMMUNITIES COPE WITH THE AFTERMATH, ELECTED OFFICIALS AND FEDERAL REGULATORS ARE CALLING ON RAILROADS TO DO MORE TO PREVENT DERAILMENTS. RECENTLY, OUR CORRESPONDENT DAN LIEBERMAN WENT TO PITTSBURGH TO TALK TO SAFETY ADVOCATES AND RAIL WORKERS. AND RESIDENTS, THEY SAY MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE TO KEEP THE COMMUNITIES ALONG THE RAIL LINE SAFE. LOOK AT WHERE THIS BRIDGE IS SITUATED. YOU GET A DERAILMENT AND THAT’LL TAKE THE TRAIN AND THE BRIDGE DOWN. A TRAIN DERAILMENT IN PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, IS TOP OF MIND FOR RESIDENTS LIKE GLENN OLSON, A LAWYER AND LOCAL TRAIN SAFETY ADVOCATE WHO’S BEEN SOUNDING THE ALARM ON THE POTENTIAL RISKS OF A DERAILMENT FOR YEARS. THOSE BLACK BROWN TIRES OR OIL TRAINS, THIS BRIDGE IS PART OF THE NORTH, FOLKS. SOUTHERN MOST CRITICAL EAST WEST RAIL LINE BETWEEN CHICAGO AND THE OIL REFINERIES ON THE EAST COAST. ULCERS TOOK US ABOARD A PATROL VESSEL BELONGING TO THREE RIVERS. WATER KEEPERS, AN ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP THAT MONITORS WATER QUALITY IN THE REGION. HE SAYS THIS IS THE BEST VIEW OF WHAT HE CONSIDERS TO BE ONE OF THE GREATEST SAFETY THREATS. RAILROAD BRIDGES. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE UP THERE. JUST LOOK, HE SAYS. AT THE FORT WAYNE BRIDGE IN DOWNTOWN PITTSBURGH. IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY, IT’S ENTIRELY CORRODED AND LOOK WHAT IT’S HOLDING UP. I MEAN, ALL OF THE WAY FROM THE BRIDGE AND THE TRAINS COMES DOWN TO ALMOST NOTHING. THIS IS WHY I’M CONCERNED AND THIS IS WHY WE ALL NEED TO BE CONCERNED. THE BRIDGE’S OWNER, NORFOLK SOUTHERN, SAID THIS BRIDGE WAS INSPECTED THREE TIMES IN THE LAST YEAR AND THAT BRIDGES ARE SUPPORTED STRUCTURALLY BY A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PARTS, ADDING ESTHETICS DO NOT DETERMINE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY. BUT OLSON IS NOT CONVINCED. YOU NEED TO PROVE IT. SHOW US THE INSPECTION REPORTS. WE ASKED BOTH NORFOLK SOUTHERN AND THE FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION FOR THE REPORTS, BUT WE’RE TOLD THAT ONLY AN ELECTED OR APPOINTED OFFICIAL MAY OBTAIN THEM. DOES IT TROUBLE YOU AS A STRUCTURAL ENGINEER, THAT YOU DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO THE RECORDS ABOUT RAIL BRIDGES THAT YOU DON’T ACTUALLY KNOW IF THEY’RE SAFE OR NOT? I DON’T KNOW THAT THE RECORDS NEED TO BE PUBLIC PER SE, BUT I THINK THAT WE COULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE OPEN WITH THE PROFESSIONALS WHO CAN ACTUALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND CAN ACTUALLY HELP. KENT HARRIES IS A STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH. DO YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE RIGHT NOW THAT RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE IS BEING PROPERLY AND THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATED AND INSPECTED? ON THE WHOLE, I HAVE TO, YES. I’M SURE THAT THINGS ARE FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS. THERE’S NO QUESTION. THROUGHOUT THE NORTHEAST, IN PARTICULAR, THE OLD PART OF THE NATION, PRETTY MUCH MOST OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS IN VERY POOR SHAPE AS A RESULT OF DECADES OF ESSENTIALLY NO MAINTENANCE. AND WE DON’T DEAL WITH IT UNTIL WE HAVE CATASTROPHIC FAILURES. THESE ARE PRIVATE COMPANIES. SO WHEN IT COMES TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT THE RAILROADS RELY ON, HOW DO YOU ENSURE THAT THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IS PROPERLY MAINTAINED AND SAFE? WE HAVE REGULATIONS AND WE NEED TO PROVIDE THE RESOURCES TO MEET THOSE MANDATES. WELL, TRAINS REMAIN AMONG THE SAFEST FORMS OF TRANSPORTING FREIGHT. THERE WERE MORE THAN 1100 DERAILMENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY LAST YEAR, AVERAGING ABOUT THREE PER DAY. THIS IS THE HIGH RIVER RIGHT HERE. SO AS YOU SEE, YOU KNOW, THESE TRACKS RUNNING ALONG, ALL THESE LITTLE TOWNS. AND, YOU KNOW, IF THERE’S A CATASTROPHIC ACCIDENT, IT COULD BE DEVASTATING. DENNIS SABINA IS PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION IN BEAVER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. HE’S BEEN INSPECTING RAILROAD CARS FOR 17 YEARS FOR NORFOLK SOUTHERN. JUST A FEW MILES AWAY FROM THE EAST, PALESTINE, OHIO, DERAILMENT, HE SAYS THE INDUSTRY HAS CHANGED OVER TIME. WHEN I STARTED 17 YEARS AGO, WE HAD 3 MINUTES PER CAR TO INSPECT EACH CAR AND NOW IT’S BEEN CUT BACK TO ONE MINUTE PER CAR OR LESS. SO THAT’S WHEN A LOT OF THINGS GOT LEFT GO INSTEAD OF TAKING THEM OUT OF SERVICE, THEY LET IT GO TO THE NEXT LOCATION AND, YOU KNOW, KNOCK ON WOOD, I GUESS YOU KNOW. MOST OF THE TIME THEY MAKE IT IN RESPONSE. NORFOLK SOUTHERN SAID A STUDY OF EXPERIENCED CREWS FOUND A ONE MINUTE AVERAGE CYCLE TIME PER CAR, BUT SAID THIS IS A GUIDELINE FOR CREWS AND THAT THE COMPANY’S CURRENT AVERAGE INSPECTION TIME IS APPROXIMATE 2 MINUTES. ADDING THE COMPANY’S PRACTICES EXCEED FEDERAL GUIDELINES. WHEN YOU LOOK AROUND, WHEN YOU SEE WHAT’S HAPPENED IN THE INDUSTRY, WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT IT IMPOSES A THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY? OBVIOUSLY, IF YOU’RE NOT DOING THE QUALITY INSPECTION, YOU KNOW YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE MORE ACCIDENTS AND MORE CATASTROPHIC THINGS HAPPEN. I WANT TO SHOW YOU SOME PICTURES THAT WERE SENT TO US BY A DISPATCHER. HE SAID THIS TRAIN WAS ALLOWED TO LEAVE. THIS ONE OF MISSING A SPRING, RIGHT? NO, THAT ONE SHOULD NOT. THAT’S A KNUCKLE THAT’S BROKEN. AND THAT SHOULD NOT GO. I MEAN, PROBABLY THAT WOULD BREAK IN THE JOURNEY IN. WHEN IT DOES, IT’S GOING TO SEPARATE THE CARS. THESE DERAILMENTS ARE JUST THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS FOR THEM. THAT’S IT. THAT’S THE WAY THEY VIEW IT. AND UNTIL THAT’S TAKEN BACK INTO THE CONTROL OF THE REGULATORS AND THE FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES ARE PROPERLY STAFFED AND PROPERLY FUNDED. I’M CONCERNED. EVERYBODY SHOULD BE CONCERNED. WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO SPEAK OUT ABOUT THESE ISSUES? BECAUSE JUST THE ACCIDENT IN PALESTINE, LUCKILY THAT WAS MORE A RURAL AREA. IF IT WOULD HAVE BEEN CLOSER TO THE CITIES, IT COULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC. WE NEED THE RAILROADS. I MEAN, THERE’S NO DOUBT, BECAUSE IF WE DIDN’T HAVE THE RAILROADS, WE WOULDN’T HAVE ANYTHING. I MEAN, THEY CARRY EVERYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF. SO, YEAH, WE NEED THEM, BUT WE NEED THEM TO BE SAFE. FOR MATTER O