{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cramer.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/bnsf-announces-major-infrastructure-improvements-near-casselton", "BNSF Announces Major Infrastructure Improvements Near Casselton", "2014-11-24", "2014", "2014-11", "Republican", "House", "ND", "Kevin Cramer", "C001096", "cramer.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "BISMARCK, N.D. \u2013 BNSF Railway has announced they are committing to major infrastructure improvements to improve railway through Casselton following recent derailments, Congressman Kevin Cramer said today. In a letter to North Dakota\u2019s Congressional delegation, BNSF provided an update on the progress of a major review of its rail operations and infrastructure in the Casselton vicinity.\n\u201cThe derailments near Casselton last December and again earlier this month, combined with repeated incidents on this stretch of railroad prior to 2013, are too overwhelming to ignore. I am pleased BNSF is moving forward with a robust plan to prevent future accidents from occurring. I continue to be in close communication with BNSF Executive Chairman Matt Rose, and am encouraged by the commitment from him and his team. The increase in rail transportation as America advances toward energy security, and recent derailment incidents, make it clear rail safety needs to be a national priority,\u201d said Cramer.\nBNSF has committed to:\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Increase Rail Detection Testing Frequency. BNSF will more than double the frequency of testing rail for defects on the KO Subdivision to 12 per year. Existing frequency on crude routes under the industry crude by rail safety initiative is three per year, one more than required by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). BNSF currently tests five times per year. \n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Increase the Number of Equipment Detectors. Install supplemental Warm Journal/Dragging equipment detectors on all routes leading into Casselton. These detectors flag equipment issues as the train passes, which gives BNSF the ability to intervene before an accident occurs.\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Intensify Day-to-Day Track Maintenance Focus. BNSF will provide additional supervision and oversight of track quality by assigning maintenance engineers to focus on this segment of the railroad. BNSF is also adding additional winter seasonal manpower for maintenance. The availability of this winter team will provide more resources and focus on a day-to-day basis.\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Accelerated Capital Maintenance Investment. BNSF will accelerate the refresh of critical infrastructure by replacing rail relay and ties within a seven-mile range of Casselton in 2015. This accelerated investment will harden the rail infrastructure in and around Casselton.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://cramer.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/bnsf-announces-major-infrastructure-improvements-near-casselton"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4695539139211178, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}