The five members of Congress who represent Baltimore are urging CSX Corp., whose tracks run alongside the Camden Yards sports complex, to cease shipments of hazardous materials through downtown during Ravens and Orioles games and other stadium events.
The two U.S. senators and three representatives said yesterday that they had sent a letter to CSX Chief Executive Michael J. Ward calling for a series of precautionary measures after the city reached what they called an "apparent stalemate" in negotiations with the freight railroad. Twelve of the company's rail cars derailed Saturday outside M&T Bank Stadium.
The cars jumped the tracks one week before the Army-Navy football game, which is to be played at the stadium tomorrow. It was the second major CSX derailment near the stadiums this decade. In 2001, a derailment and chemical fire in the Howard Street Tunnel forced the evacuation of many downtown buildings and the cancellation of three Orioles games.
"These derailments demonstrate in stark terms the significant risks that the transportation of hazardous materials through Baltimore bring to all of the residents of the city and to those who may be attending events at facilities located near CSX rail operations," the letter states. "While the cause of the most recent derailment is still under investigation, this derailment also renews concern about the safety of CSX rail operations in and around the Howard Street Tunnel."
The letter is signed by Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin and Reps. Elijah E. Cummings, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger and John Sarbanes. All are Democrats.
In a news release, the lawmakers said that CSX agreed to "several previously denied requests for safety measures" after learning that President Bush might attend tomorrow's game.
"It is simply unconscionable that a company would take any safety precautions for a presidential visit the day after refusing to take precautions for tens of thousands of Marylanders," Cummings said. "Having 70,000 people gathered just 35 feet from toxic trains is like painting a giant bulls-eye on our community."
No alternative route
CSX routinely carries hazardous chemicals such as tripropylene - the chemical that ignited in the 2001 fire - through Baltimore via the Howard Street Tunnel because it has no alternate route in the Northeast Corridor. City officials have long complained that the railroad does not tell them what dangerous materials it is transporting and when.
