Slow down trains in Graniteville

More than six years ago, Rep. J. Roland Smith penned a letter that would eerily foreshadow a tragedy.

In the 1998 letter sent to Norfolk Southern, the Clearwater representative implored company officials to slow down trains through Graniteville.

"Councilman Randall has requested that we do a speed check to see if these trains need to be slowed down, or install additional safety measures to avoid disasters such as a chemical spill, if there were to be an accident involving a derailment or some other accident," he wrote.

While it is unclear whether Norfolk Southern officials looked into the issue of speed, one thing is certain: Nothing was done to slow the trains, and one can only wonder if the company's inaction can be tied to the loss of 14 people from two separate accidents.

The first accident occurred in November, when five people were killed when their car was struck by a train. The maximum allowable speed through the town is a brisk 49 mph. Witnesses at the scene said the crash happened in a blurring flash. Would a speed of perhaps half the currently allowed limit have given time for the driver to move her vehicle off the tracks?

The Jan. 6 derailment and subsequent gas leak has been tied to a switch not being set properly, and a train branching onto a spur and crashing into a parked train. A slower speed would probably not have avoided a crash. However, the velocity-driven impact was no doubt a factor in the mangled carnage of train cars that left a quarter-mile cloud of deadly chlorine gas settling over the town. A slower speed may have prevented one of the chlorine-filled tankers from being punctured.

Norfolk Southern was asked to slow down the trains before anything tragic had occurred. They did nothing. Officials from Orangeburg County asked Norfolk Southern officials to slow down the trains in 2001. Nothing happened. When the November accident occurred, Aiken County Council asked them to slow down. They did nothing. Now, nine more have died. Norfolk Southern has started the trains back at a reduced speed, but that is standard operating procedure following a derailment. By all accounts, the trains will be traveling at 49 mph again.

To be certain, speed is not the sole cause of these horrific events. However, it is without a doubt a contributing factor. No one should have to ask Norfolk Southern again. Slow down the trains.

Copyright © 2003, The Aiken Standard