Railway company threatens council with lawsuit

Written by jrood

An attorney for the Greenville and Western Railway Company has asked the Anderson, S.C., County Council to stop trying to regulate the safety of its tracks, and has threatened to sue council member Cindy Wilson, the Anderson Independent Mail reports. The council approved a resolution at its December 7 meeting asking the company to keep its trains "at lower speeds" in consideration of drivers and families who live near railroad tracks. The resolution was introduced by Wilson. The company's lawyer, Marshall Lawson, says in a letter that the council went beyond the scope of its power in approving that resolution. Lawson says that Wilson has made "false and reckless statements" about the company, including some about the safety of its tracks. The company has nearly 13 miles of tracks that run through Anderson County, and its trains carry fuel and freight. Lawson said the company "undertook a major and costly track-improvement project" in the last two years, and this month chose to change the class for a little more than half of its track mileage. The change allows that instead of traveling a maximum of 10 mph, trains on the upgraded tracks could go up to 30 mph, according to Lawson's letter. The resolution that the council approved this month reads as follows: "A resolution to approve the request that Greenville and Western Railroad remain at the lower speeds due to the volatility of the product that they are transporting and the safety of families and motorist(s) adjoining the Greenville and Western Railroad." Wilson said Tuesday that she is not sure that the company's lawyer was fully aware of safety concerns involving the railroad tracks. She said she will continue to listen to the concerns of her constituents and will stand for any one of those concerns "whenever it involves a question of safety and life and the pursuit of quiet enjoyment." Lawson's letter, dated last Thursday, says that the Federal Railroad Administration inspected the company's upgraded tracks on December 11 in response to an anonymous complaint. "The FRA's inspection determined the track to be in compliance with applicable regulations, with ‘no exceptions taken' to the increase in classification and speed for the segment so designated," Lawson wrote. Lawson said that any attempt by the council to regulate the train tracks is "pre-empted" by federal law. "We, therefore, respectfully request (that) council rescind the ill-advised resolution and make no further attempt to regulate this area," Lawson wrote. "Should individual members of council continue to make false and defamatory comments about my client or take any legislative action purporting to usurp federal authority over railroad operations ... I will have no choice but to advise my clients to seek all remedies available to it in the courts of law."

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