Fwd: Railroad seeks $5 million from tug owners

Sat May 23 09:51:42 EDT 2015

   Railroad seeks $5 million from tug owners for bridge damage   

Railroad seeks $5 million from tug owners for bridge dam...

The railroad is asking for as much as $5 million in the incident, in which a barge struck a key rail bridge in Chesapeake. Norfolk Southern's "Bridge 7" sits next...         

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Railroad seeks $5 million from tug owners for bridge damage

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A barge with a crane is tied next to the 107-year-old rail bridge over the southern branch of the Elizabeth River on Thursday, May 21, 2015. The bridge was hit and damaged by a barge last month.     (Steve Earley | The Virginian-Pilot)   

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 By   Robert McCabe  
 The Virginian-Pilot  
© May 22, 2015   
CHESAPEAKE  

Nearly a month after a barge on the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River struck and damaged a key rail bridge in Chesapeake owned by Norfolk Southern Corp., the railroad has filed a lawsuit against two tugboats and their owners.  

The suit, filed this week in Norfolk federal court against St. Augustine, Fla.-based Tradewinds Towing LLC and Chesapeake-based Intracoastal Marine Inc., respective owners of the tugs Simone and Maverick, seeks up to $5 million in damages.  

Norfolk Southern's "Bridge 7," built in 1908, sits next to the Gilmerton Bridge and is a crucial link connecting the railroad's coal and cargo-container businesses in Norfolk with the rest of the country. An average of 18 trains cross the bridge daily, including two Amtrak passenger trains, said Susan Terpay, a Norfolk Southern spokeswoman, in an email.  

"Norfolk Southern has determined the bridge to be operationally safe for train traffic," she stated, declining to comment further, citing pending litigation.  

On the morning of April 26, the suit states, the tug Simone, assisted by the Maverick, was towing a barge loaded with cement forms, headed for the Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River north of New York City. As the Simone passed under Bridge 7, the barge hit its "fender system" and pier, shifting the bridge pier about a foot from its foundation, "and such other damage as may be discovered."  

"Bridge 7 has been extensively damaged, including destruction of the fender system," according to the suit, which accuses the two tug companies of negligence and breach of duty. "Norfolk Southern has incurred and may continue to incur extensive damages due to the cessation of all bridge traffic, both coal and passenger, necessary for implementing temporary and/or permanent repairs."  

The bridge was closed immediately after the incident, which blocked intermodal trains carrying cargo containers to and from Norfolk International Terminals for about a day.  

Late on April 27, the railroad announced that the structure was back in service.  

A bascule bridge with two rail tracks side by side, Bridge 7 has a section that lifts. Drivers passing on the Gilmerton Bridge next to it may be used to seeing the raised section of the dark-colored bridge pointed skyward.  

"The big thing was that it was knocked out of alignment," preventing the bridge from closing, said Lt. Keith Heine, the Coast Guard's lead investigator on the case. "There was pretty significant underwater damage."  

Divers continue to work on the bridge, a Federal Railroad Administration spokesman said Thursday.  

Only one of the two tracks on the bridge is in service, and there is a speed restriction of 10 mph, put in place by Norfolk Southern, the spokesman added.  

The National Transportation Safety Board assisted the Coast Guard on the investigation, Terry Williams of the NTSB said in an email Thursday.  

Amtrak service was affected immediately after the incident but was fully restored shortly afterward. It has continued to run two trains daily since April 29, said Kimberly Woods, an Amtrak spokeswoman.  

Joe Harris, a spokesman for the Virginia Port Authority, said things have returned to normal following the initial interruption of service to its Norfolk container terminal.  

John Holloway, an attorney representing Intracoastal Marine, declined to comment. Edward Powers, an attorney for Tradewinds Towing, could not be reached for comment.  

Daniel Warman, Norfolk Southern's attorney, deferred questions to Terpay.  

The 107-year-old bridge is a critical connection point for Norfolk Southern, carrying all of its coal trains to and from the Lamberts Point export terminal, and more than 95 percent of all intermodal trains serving NIT.  

"That's Norfolk Southern's lifeline," said an industry source, who asked not to be identified. "That is the only - and I mean only - access point for Norfolk Southern into this area."  

   Robert McCabe, 757-446-2327, robert.mccabe at pilotonline.com  

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