An interesting Boston Globe story detailed how the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad recently came to a “good faith” safety agreement with the Federal Railroad Association in which the MBCR will try to get its workers’ union to agree to random drug testing. Amazingly, the MBCR does not have the authority under federal rules to require drug tests of the 276 members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees that work for them. This safety agreement comes in the wake of a January train accident in Woburn in which two train workers were killed and four others suffered serious personal injuries. A source close to the investigation revealed that one of the workers who was struck by the train tested positive for marijuana.

Specifically, the workers involved in this accident failed to install a required safety device which activates signals to train conductors that workers are on the tracks. Federal investigators later found the metal shunt device in the truck nearby and learned that a dispatcher mistakenly let the train go through the work site.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that railroad workers have been found to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Two employees tested positive for drugs and alcohol during a fatal train accident in Gloucester last June. The story said that federal officials are considering fining the MBCR for failing to send specimens from the dead workers for testing in proper time, which begs the question of why they are still considering the fine and haven’t implemented one already.

With the safety of not only these workers but also daily commuters who use the MBCR on the line, it is vital that random drug testing be allowed. The union has expressed a willingness to discuss the proposed safety agreement and will meet with officials of the railroad on June 26^th. Here’s hoping that they are able to agree on the importance of drug testing in preventing these types of disturbing train accidents in the future.