Additional Wedesday morning rail news:
Chaffee County, Colo., joins group sharing legal fees over Tennessee Pass fight
Chaffee County, Colo., has agreed to join a group which will split legal fees resulting from an effort to block reactivation of Union Pacific’s Tennessee Pass rail line. The Vail Daily reports Chaffee County commissioners voted Tuesday to join the city of Avon and Eagle County, Colo., in splitting the fees of attorneys Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell. Rio Grande Pacific subsidiary Colorado, Midland & Pacific has reached agreement to lease the long dormant route through the Rockies, but the plan is generating widespread public opposition. The Surface Transportation Board last week said it would review issues surrounding the lease, delaying the deal [see “Federal regulators delay lease …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 29, 2021].
NS employee injured when train strikes front-end loader (updated)
A Norfolk Southern employee was injured Tuesday night when a train hit a front-end loader at the NS yard in Bethlehem, Pa. WFMZ-TV reports the accident occurred about 10:30 p.m. and ejected the operator from the loader. The individual was taken by ambulance to the trauma unit of a nearby hospital. The Morning Call newspaper reports that the person suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to the railroad.
Missouri bill would allow concealed weapons on trains, buses
A Missouri state legislator has introduced a bill to allow concealed carrying of guns on public transit, but the state’s transit association opposes the bill. The Missourian reports the bill sponsored by Rep. Adam Schnelting (R-St. Charles, Mo.) would allow an individual to transport one nonfunctional or unloaded gun. Proponents expressed a belief the state offers a constitutional right to carry firearms that should not be abridged. Michael Winter, state affairs consultant for the Missouri Public Transit Association, said some passengers might not be comfortable knowing others on board were carrying weapons. The legislation is HB 52.
— Updated at 12:30 p.m. CST with additional information on injured NS employee.
