DATE: Thursday, September 4, 1997           TAG: 9709040473

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: 1D   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   47 lines

AGENCY TO BEGIN SAFETY REVIEWS AT CSX AND NORFOLK SOUTHERN INQUIRY WILL INCLUDE CRITICAL EYE BECAUSE OF CONRAIL BUYOUT.

Focusing attention on safety as Norfolk Southern and CSX move to divide Conrail between them, the Federal Railroad Administration has begun safety reviews at each of the railroads.

The reviews follow an intensive investigation in recent weeks at the western railroad Union Pacific Corp., which has had a devastating string of fatal accidents in the past few months.

The Federal Railroad Administration, the agency charged with regulating rail safety, wants to make sure safety considerations are a priority in the breakup of Philadelphia-based Conrail, said Jim Gower, an FRA spokesman.

Gower said the safety reviews of the big three Eastern railroads were under way before the Union Pacific investigation started. However, the Union Pacific incidents were a catalyst for agency concerns about the merger.

``We don't want to see the same sort of problems as a result of the Conrail acquisition that seem to have resulted from the Union Pacific merger,'' Gower said. ``We want to make sure that in the acquisition process, safety is not overlooked.''

The FRA intends to participate in the Surface Transportation Board's review of the Conrail takeover. Based on its reviews of the three railroad's safety conditions, it may recommend some safety-based conditions for approval of the takeover. The STB is scheduled to rule on the takeover by next summer.

Safety is Norfolk Southern's first priority, said Norfolk Southern spokesman Robert Fort.

Norfolk Southern has been recognized as the nation's safest large railroad for eight years running. Its accident rate is nearly a third of the nation's average.

``Our safety record speaks for itself,'' Fort said. ``We cooperate with the Federal Railroad Administration in every way.''

Gower acknowledged that all three Eastern railroads have good safety records and that Norfolk Southern's is ``exceptional.''

``We just want to make sure that safety is not compromised in the takeover effort,'' he said.

The federal inquiry into a series of accidents on the Union Pacific that caused seven deaths has found that worker fatigue and inadequate oversight contributed to the accidents.

Union Pacific, which merged with Southern Pacific a year ago, has announced plans to ease the workload by hiring 1,500 workers by the end of the year.

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