District 42 Senator Mike Jacobson to prioritize two-man crew bill, references rail car explosion

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) - On the heels of last week’s railcar explosion in Lincoln County, District 42 State Senator Mike Jacobson is res-solidifying the importance of safety measures for transportation companies such as Union Pacific.

“Think about the accident that occurred in Bailey Yard last week. The two-person crew bill would not have impacted that but think about if that car were hooked to a train going across the country and ended up near a small town somewhere, where there was only a small local volunteer fire department, who would know what was in that car? The conductor has the manifest that will tell you what is in every car on that train. Among all the other reasons that we’ve stated before why it is important to have two crew members this really solidifies the point. This and many other toxic or radioactive chemicals and materials get shipped by the class one railroad,” Senator Jacobson said.

Senator Jacobson introduced a similar bill in the last session that wound up being held up in the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee. Senator Jacobson says for him, the bill boils down to safety and ensuring two crew members are on each locomotive that travels outside the yard.

“After twelve hours of running that train, it can get pretty tiring along the way. Having that other person there I think is critically important. I don’t think it’s too much to ask. The railroads have been doing it all through the years, all this bill does is codify the practice and take it out of the hands of collective bargaining,” Senator Jacobson said.

Sen. Jacobsen said he plans to re-introduce the two-person crew bill as a priority bill next legislative session.

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