Lawmakers, railroad officials gather in North Charleston to discuss safety

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Local lawmakers will gather in North Charleston to discuss railroad transportation and safety.

Monday’s Railroad Transportation Safety Meeting stems from community concerns about previous railway derailment incidents across the country and in North Charleston.

South Carolina Rep. Wendell Gilliard (D - Charleston) said he hopes a meeting with leaders from CSX Transportation, Palmetto Railways, as well as other local community leaders, can devise a plan to put the community’s safety first.

“That brings everybody to a level of awareness and improvements as to hold people accountable,” Gilliard said. ”Things along that line is much needed.”

Gillard said this meeting is a planning phase and he’d like to go over safety protocol to see if there need to be adjustments made whether that be in training safety and if needed take the changes up to Columbia.

President of the Rosemount Neighborhood Council Nancy Button said she hopes, in the future, contacting CSX Transportation in case of an emergency is more responsive.

“They have started moving the train tracks because the people complained but we don’t have no say so,” Button said. “It’s so hard to get in touch with CSX. You have to go to that post and get a number off of there and try to call them if anything goes on with their trains and you can’t get nobody on the phone. It’s not good at all.”

Monday’s meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. at North Charleston City Hall.

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