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2/7/2024
The Federal Railroad Administration has ordered the Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad (BNGR) to shut down due to the short line's operations posing "an imminent threat" to public safety.
The FRA issued an emergency order requiring the BNGR to discontinue operations of all trains, locomotives and other on-track rail vehicles or equipment under any circumstances over track that the railroad leases or owns, including the rail line extending from Wellington, Kansas, to Blackwell, Oklahoma.
The short line cannot resume operations until it complies with all requirements of the FRA's emergency order.
Issuance of emergency orders is "extremely rare and infrequent," an FRA spokesman said in an email. The emergency order on the BNGR is only the 33rd one in FRA's history, the spokesman said.
"Most previous EOs have not entirely shut down railroads, but rather have been more limited in scope," the spokesman said.
Progressive Railroading reached out to a BNGR representative for comment.
BNGR operates on about 37 miles of rail line owned by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Blackwell Industrial Authority. The line extends from Blackwell to Wellington, where BNGR interchanges with BNSF Railway Co.
In its order, the FRA outlined "several serious incidents" that occurred since the BNGR changed ownership on Oct. 1, 2023. The incidents included two derailments and a "highly dangerous movement" of on-track equipment through an unprotected grade crossing, narrowly missing a collision with a passenger vehicle.
The FRA began investigating BNGR's operations after a Dec. 27, 2023 derailment, in which investigators found the short line was operating "with complete disregard for the safety of the public" and hadn't corrected safety issues that the FRA identified as posing "imminent risks of injury or death."
The FRA determined that under its current ownership, the BNGR has operated locomotives not safe for use, allowed locomotives to be operated by people not qualified as engineers and failed to qualify any engineers or conductors under FRA regulations.
"BNGR has maintained no records of track safety inspections, no records of employees designated and qualified to perform track inspections, and no records that roadway workers have been trained to use roadway maintenance machines or perform safety-essential functions in accordance with FRA regulations," the FRA's order states.
The short line failed to report the two derailments, according to the FRA. In both cases, the person operating the derailed train was not qualified as an engineer; and in at least one instance, the locomotive was several years past inspection. The FRA also discovered people not employed by the railroad and with no qualifications were allowed to operate the trains.
"Moreover, there is evidence BNGR employees have been directed by BNGR ownership to provide FRA false information, including a false engineer certification card and false hours of service records," the emergency order states.
"BNGR has created a public safety emergency through a willful failure to undertake basic responsibilities such as track inspection and training for safety-related railroad employees in combination with the deliberate actions of one or more individuals," the order continues.
Additionally, the FRA determined that a co-owner and most senior person located at the railroad has personally operated locomotives and trains on the line without required training, leading to derailments; and provided false information to the FRA.
"Evidence also shows this individual has directed employees to act in ways that are unsafe and wholly contrary to a safety culture railroad employees expect and required to do their jobs properly, including directions to put locomotives into service not fit for use and prepare false HOS records," the order states.
The railroad hasn't provided the FRA with a written program of operational tests and inspections per FRA regulations.
On Jan. 17, the FRA found no program for track inspection in compliance with FRA safety regulations and no inspection records since the railroad came under its current ownership (October-December 2023). After that finding, the BNGR manager told the FRA that all track over which the short line operates would be taken out of service, according to the FRA document.
But on Jan. 28, witnesses reported that an on-track hi-rail vehicle nearly collided with a highway passenger vehicle at a grade crossing over the BNGR line near Blackwell.
"This incident demonstrates a cascade of failures to protect life and safety by BNGR," as the grade crossing signal system was not activated, no flagger was provided and the hi-rail vehicle made no effort to stop and yield to right-of-way vehicular traffic, the FRA order states.
"[T]he pattern of gross negligence and willful failures to comply with federal safety regulations in multiple functional areas, including track safety, locomotive engineer qualification and certification, operating practices and roadway worker safety, persuades FRA that reliance alone upon the assurances and cooperation of BNGR is not possible, consistent with public safety."
The BNGR may not resume operations until it takes several actions required by the FRA. To read the entire emergency order, click here.