Erie is a major pathway for trains traveling around the Great Lakes region.

Because of this, City of Erie residents may be wondering, what can city officials do in regard to a possible train derailment?

WJET spoke with Mayor Joe Schember about that very issue, who said that he wouldn’t have much power in that kind of situation.

“There’s not a lot that the mayor or even I don’t think a lot that the county can do about that. We’d love to avoid it, hopefully they’re taking good care of the rail tracks,” said Mayor Joe Schember, City of Erie.

“It’s not easy. It’s something that we probably need to be thinking and talking more about, all of us, not just the city and the county. But even the state and the federal government need to be looking at what can be done if this happens to protect the people that live in that area,” Schember continued.

Mayor Schember said that if anything were to happen, he feels confident that first responders would do everything in their power to help.