Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee Statement to Assembly, No. 4460 (2024)

Summary

An Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee statement to Assembly, No. 4460, State of New Jersey, dated September 12, 2024, reporting the bill favorably. The bill requires at least a two-person crew on all dangerous hazardous trains, with listed exceptions, and requires those trains to display the name of the owning railroad company. It prohibits operating any train longer than 8,500 feet on a main line or branch line in the State, with a civil penalty of at least $500 but not more than $1,000 per foot over the limit, and a maximum of $250,000 in cases of gross negligence or repeated violations. The Board of Public Utilities and the Department of Transportation are to work with railroad companies on wayside detector systems.

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ASSEMBLY COMMERCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND AGRICULTURE
COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY,
No. 4460

STATE
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: SEPTEMBER
12, 2024

The Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and
Agriculture Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 4460.

This bill provides certain requirements concerning
railroad safety. Under the bill, the owner or operator of a dangerous
hazardous train is to require at least a two-person crew on all dangerous
hazardous trains. The owner or operator of a dangerous hazardous train is to
further require that all dangerous hazardous trains clearly display the name of
the railroad company that owns the dangerous hazardous train. The bill provides
for certain exceptions to the two-person crew requirement, including: when a
train is performing helper service; when a train is a tourist, scenic,
historic, or excursion operation that is not part of the general railroad
system of transportation; when a train is a locomotive that is not attached to
railcars, is located inside a rail yard, and is being moved between tracks or
moved to or from a maintenance shop; and when the owner or operator has been
exempted from the two-person crew requirement by the Commissioner of
Transportation. However, the bill specifies that the two-person crew
requirement is mandatory when a train is transporting one or more loaded
freight cars containing any material poisonous by inhalation or transporting 10
or more loaded freight cars or freight cars loaded with bulk packages or
containing certain hazardous materials.

The bill also prohibits a railroad company, including
a short line, from operating any train that exceeds 8,500 feet in length on any
main line or branch line within the State. Any person or railroad company that
violates this maximum length is liable for a civil penalty of at least $500 but
not more than $1,000 per foot exceeding the maximum train length allowed under
the bill. The maximum penalty allowed is $250,000 in instances of gross
negligence or a pattern of repeated violations that cause an imminent hazard of
death or injury or that have caused death or injury, regardless of train
length.

The owner or operator of a privately owned railroad is
required to submit a copy of federally required bridge inspection reports to
the Commissioner of Transportation, the Governor, and the Legislature.

Under the bill, the Board of Public Utilities (board),
in conjunction with Department of Transportation (DOT), is required to work
with each railroad company that operates in the State to ensure that wayside
detector systems are installed and are operating along railroad tracks on which
the railroad company operates and to ensure that such systems meet certain standards.
If a railroad company refuses to work or otherwise cooperate with the board and
the DOT in good faith, the board and the DOT are required to investigate the
railroad company’s safety practices and standards to determine whether the
company appears to be in compliance with federal railroad safety standards. If
the railroad company does not appear to be in compliance, the board and the DOT
are then required to make a report to the Federal Railroad Administration
(administration), within 60 days after this determination, detailing the
results of the investigation and recommending that the administration take
enforcement action against the railroad company. The bill requires the board
and the DOT to send a copy of the report to the Governor and Legislature.

The bill requires that all non-profit labor
organizations representing a class or craft of employees of rail carriers or
rail carrier contractor officials (non-profit labor organizations) be permitted
onto railroad property to assist in inspecting for safety hazards and are
permitted to identify any alleged safety hazards.

Finally, the bill requires the DOT to work with
non-profit labor organizations and local emergency response service providers
to apply for federal grants.

With the exception of the maximum train length
provisions of the bill, this bill does not apply to certain Class III carriers
as defined by the Surface Transportation Board.

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