PORTLAND (AP) — The Federal Railroad Administration’s top official says he’s “shocked” that a Maine-based rail company is continuing to use single-person crews following the rail disaster in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.
The Canadian government already ordered Montreal, Maine & Atlantic to use at least two crew members for trains operating in that country, but FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo says the company has continued to use single person crews in Maine.
He told the railroad that the same safety procedures used north of the border should be used in Maine as well.
The company filed for bankruptcy after an unattended train with 72 tankers of crude oil crashed into Lac- Megantic, killing 47 people and destroying 40 buildings in the heart of town.
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