(Photo: File photo by Tania Savayan/The Journal News)
Oil train inspections find 62 defects
New York officials say another round of inspections of tank cars and tracks carrying crude oil has found 62 defects, including one requiring an immediate fix.
Statewide, inspectors report examining 524 tank cars, 152 miles of track and 38 rail switches.
Five non-critical defects were found along the stretch of CSX tracks between Rockland and Ulster counties.
Up to 30 trains hauling Bakken crude oil from the Midwest pass through Rockland County on CSX tracks each week, traveling through four of Rockland's five towns. Rockland officials have scheduled an oil train disaster drill for Thursday night.
Inspectors visited the CSX Corporation-owned Selkirk Yard south of Albany, the Canadian Pacific-owned Kenwood Yard in Albany, the Frontier Yard in Buffalo, and the Buffalo & Pittsburgh-owned D&E Yard in Buffalo.
Authorities report finding a missing bolt on a continuously welded rail joint, which was repaired immediately, in checking 64 miles of track and two switches along the CSX mainline in the Hudson Valley. The missing bolt was found on a section between Milton in Ulster County and Selkirk south of Albany.
On the CSX mainline tracks between Milton and Rockland, inspectors reported five non-critical defects, including fouled ballast, loose or missing switch rod bolts and cotter pins, and insufficient fasteners.
They reported only non-critical tank car defects like loose bolts and thin brake shoes.
The targeted safety inspections began in 2014, following a deadly Canadian derailment.