Wyden, Merkley Statement on Federal Railroad Administration Report on Mosier Oil Train Derailment

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today issued the following joint statement after the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) released its preliminary report on the June 3 oil train derailment near Mosier, Oregon:

“The preliminary findings released today by the Federal Railroad Administration confirm the deep concerns we have regarding track safety in the Columbia River Gorge. Union Pacific has not done enough to regain the confidence of Oregonians shaken by the Mosier derailment to restart oil shipments through this area,” the senators said in a joint statement.

“We reiterate our call for federal rail regulators to put in place an emergency order, and to continue examining issues related to lag bolts and track fastening systems that appear to have caused this accident.”

In a letter sent yesterday, the senators asked the FRA to halt crude oil traffic on this rail segment until the causes of the accident have been fully analyzed and necessary steps to prevent a similar derailment have been taken.