Feb 2, 2007 9:42 pm US/Central
Report: Coal Plant Trains Will Cause Problems
by Jack Fink
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 News) ―
Trains travel through downtown Fort Worth all day and all night.
According to a new report from regional planners, if the state approves a number of coal-fired power plants in the area, the trains that deliver the coal will cause traffic and environmental problems in North Texas.
Anna Stegall grew up in Fort Worth. As trains go back and forth through the city, they pass right outside the front door of her home. "Every day, three or four trains a day, night and day," she said.
Burlington Northern and Union Pacific trains passing through 24 hours a day create some of the most congested intersections in the country.
The trains that pass through the area often make students at Nash Elementary School, including fifth grader Fernando Virmontes, late to class. They get stuck on the road, waiting for the trains to pass. "The trains are there. You always get late, and I'm always there late, so I get into trouble with the teachers," said Virmontes.
The report from regional planners shows that the delays would get a lot worse.
Many of the coal-fired power plants would receive their coal from Wyoming. According to the study, there would be an additional six trains each day, each pulling three locomotives and 130 cars. That's a total of nearly 800 cars each day, and that's just one way.
Regional transportation and environmental planners say that the additional trains will also cause another problem. As more trains pass through, more cars will be left idling in the street. The more they idle, the more pollution they add into the air.
The trains are predicted to add nearly one and a half tons of nitrogen oxide everyday. "It will have an effect, and reverse some of the progress we're making on other areas where we're reducing emissions," said Chris Klaus with the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
"Just as I suspected, the impact is going to be extreme and severe," said State Representative Lon Burnham.
In a statement, TXU, which plans on building some of the coal-fired power plants, said that it has "significant questions about the assumptions in the report."
TXU also says that trains for four of the new plants would not pass through here.
Stegall remains concerned. "It's not going to be good for this neighborhood at all," she said.
Planners are hoping to avoid higher traffic and pollution by reducing the road congestion in the next couple of years.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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