Cleveland passes ‘emergency measure’ on remote control
CLEVELAND, February 13 -- The City Council of Cleveland, Ohio, adopted an “emergency measure” on February 10 that encourages members of the Ohio State Legislature to pass legislation addressing security and safety concerns surrounding the use of remote control locomotives.
The measure also calls upon state and federal agencies that regulate railroad operations to work with the Department of Homeland Security to establish regulations to address remote control locomotives.
Cleveland is now the sixth U.S. city to adopt a resolution calling for improved safety regarding remote control trains.
The Cleveland City Council’s resolution is, “an emergency measure for the immediate preservation of public peace, property, health, or safety.”
According to the resolution, No. 194-03, the federal government recently identified railroad shipments of hazardous materials as potential terrorist targets, and noted that various railroad operators in Cuyahoga County, where Cleveland is located, have recently begun using or are considering the use of remote control trains.
The City Council determined that, “the use of remote control locomotives raises a number of safety and security concerns, particularly with hazardous cargo.”
Cleveland now joins five other U.S. cities in adopting resolutions that call for improved safety regarding remote control locomotives -– Boston, Mass., Baton Rouge, La., Shreveport, La., Detroit, Mich., and Marysville, Mich. The Boston, Baton Rouge, Shreveport and Detroit resolutions call for an outright ban of remote control trains until certain safety requirements have been met.
James F. Ong, Chairman of the BLE’s Ohio State Legislative Board, played the lead role is securing passage of the resolution. In addition to members of the Cleveland City Council, Brother Ong thanked First Vice-Chairman Tim Hanely and Second Vice-Chairman Tim Price for their efforts. He also recognized Bill Ellert, Legislative Representative of BLE Division 3 (Cleveland).
Thursday, February 13, 2003
bentley@ble.org
