Duschowitz Forms Commission To Investigate Train Safety

Governor says state must 'ensure' train safety

BROOKINGS, BIE--Biereland Governor Jenny Duschowitz is forming a special commission to investigate the safety of the Brookings-Sebotnee Rail system following a derailment incident back in early February that sent dozens of passengers to the hospital.

No one was killed or seriously injured in the accident, but the derailment did raise questions about the safety of the cities' light-rail system.

Immediately after the derailment, investigators with the state's Department of Transportation and investigators from the Federal Bureau of Transportation Safety (FBTS) determined the accident was caused by a malfunction in the train's hydraulics system. A subsequent investigation by both agencies determined the train to be safe for use. The train resumed served just a week later.

The Biereland Transportation Department (BTD) and the FBTS consider the case closed. That's why administrators in both departments are confused.

"We've already conducted our investigations and published our reports," said FBTS Director Martha Kallen. "It now seems like the governor doesn't believe our report or doesn't trust our investigation, so now she has to commission her own task force to investigate. It's really quite insulting."

The governor says her request for a special investigation has "nothing to do with trusting or distrusting anyone."

"I just want to see the safety of our train system as a whole, not just one small line of track," Duschowitz said at a press conference Friday at the capitol. "These reports and investigations by the BTD and the FBTS are focused just on this one stretch of rail. And I would like to see something that assesses the integrity of the system as a whole, and also what can be done to ensure the safety of the system."

The six-member commission, which will likely consist of former legislators and agency administrators, is expected to be announced sometime next week, Duschowitz said. The commission's investigation will "probably take around three months."

The director of the BTD, Russell Garmon, declined to comment Friday when GNN News called his office. But a spokeswoman said Garmon was "unaware the governor wants more looking into" of the incident.

A spokeswoman from Duschowitz's office said later that the governor "didn't intend to insult or offend anyone by commencing an investigation."

"We should be working together, agency with agency, on this issue. And the governor knows that and welcomes the input of the FBTS," the spokeswoman said.

FBTS Director Kallen has yet to respond to the governor's comments.