Railroad administrator believes tunnel site could provide key training

STANDARD, W.Va. — The former West Virginia Turnpike Memorial Tunnel and the steep terrain surrounding it in Kanawha County could be an ideal training location for first responders who deal with train derailments on the east coast, acting Federal Railroad Administrator Sarah Feinberg said Friday.

Feinberg toured the Center for National Response with state Adjutant General Jim Hoyer and state Division of Homeland Security Director Jimmy Gianato near Standard. The agency already has an emergency training center in Colorado but Feinberg said the Paint Creek facility would provide a different challenge.

Federal Railroad acting administrator Sarah Feinberg (right) got a tour Friday of the old memorial tunnel in Kanawha County.
Federal Railroad acting administrator Sarah Feinberg (right) got a tour Friday of the old memorial tunnel in Kanawha County.

“This is terrain that is obviously hilly, it’s in the woods, it could be great training for first responders who may have to deal with an incident in West Virginia, Virginia, upstate New York, anywhere where crude (oil) is traveling on the east coast,” she said.

The FRA has instructed the American Association of Railroads and the energy industry in recent months to put together resources to train first responders, Feinberg said.

“I think that this facility in West Virginia is a great place where they could be training first responders and helping with that,” she said. “I’m certainly going to go back to Washington and urge those two associations to take a close look at the tunnel in West Virginia.”

The FRA is continuing its investigation into the February CSX derailment in Fayette County involving a train carrying Bakken crude oil. Feinberg said the agency’s report should be completed in a matter of weeks.

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin was supposed to tour the tunnel facility with Feinberg Friday but had to stay in Washington for a scheduled vote on a transportation bill.





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