Chicago Metra convenes task force to improve air quality
Written by jrood
Responding to a Chicago Tribune story that raised questions about the level of diesel emissions on downtown platforms and onboard trains, Metra on Tuesday said it has hired an independent firm to conduct tests and is forming a task force to investigate the problem and propose new ways to improve the air quality.
Metra invited representatives of its unions,
its freight railroad partners, Amtrak and federal and state regulatory agencies,
including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration, to a summit to discuss the agency’s response to the
newspaper story.
"We take this issue very seriously,"
Acting Executive Director Bill Tupper said. "We have done testing in the past
addressing the issue of locomotive emissions. However, we must now come
together to reassess what work has been done regarding this issue and
collectively determine meaningful and tangible solutions as we go forward. This
is a multifaceted issue in which we all have an interest."
Metra has already retained an independent
firm, Carnow, Conibear & Associates, to test the quality of the air at
Metra stations and onboard its locomotives and passenger cars. That testing will
begin as soon as possible. Metra asked for the assistance of the EPA, OSHA and
others to help develop the protocols for the tests and to interpret the
results.
Metra asked the representatives present at the
meeting to join a task force to investigate the issue and propose ways to
improve the air quality. Among the issues the task force will look at are the
ventilation systems at Chicago Union Station (which is owned by Amtrak) and
Ogilvie Transportation Center, the air filtration system on the trains, whether
there are alternative exhaust treatments that can be installed on the
locomotives and whether there are cleaner alternative fuels available. The task
force also will attempt to address Metra’s shortage of capital dollars to
invest in cleaner technologies. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) already has
offered to help Metra identify new funding sources.
Metra intends to move as quickly as possible
to address the issue.
