Arizona bill to limit trains to 8,500 feet advances in state legislature
By | February 20, 2023Committee’s 10-0 vote moves legislation to full House of Representatives
PHOENIX — A bill to limit the length of freight trains in the state of Arizona has cleared its first legislative hurdle, advancing through the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Friday by a 10-0 vote with one abstention.
HB 2531 would limit trains to 8,500 feet.
Capitol Media Services reports that Rep. Consuelo Hernandez, one of the bill’s sponsors, cited the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment and hazardous-materials incident during Friday’s committee hearing, noting that railroad employees have expressed concerns about the safety of long trains.
Hernandez (D-Tucson) also read a letter of support from Rep. Tim Dunn (R-Yuma), who cited incidents when trains have blocked grade crossings for up to 2 hours, leading to longer routes for first responders. “While 2-mile-long trains might be economic possibly in the future,” Dunn wrote in his letter, “they are not working with current infrastructure in Arizona.”
No railroad representatives testified at the committee meeting.
The bill is one of at least three similar measures introduced in state legislatures this year. An Iowa bill to limit trains to 8,500 feet advanced out of a subcommittee in January [see “Iowa legislation to limit train length …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 27, 2023]. A Virginia bill which included an 8,500-foot limit, along with a 5-minute limit on blocking grade crossings and other rules, was tabled by a subcommittee of the Committee on Commerce and Energy on Jan. 26, effectively killing it for this legislative session.
No comments:
Post a Comment