A slew of lawmakers reintroduced the bipartisan Railway Safety Act to enhance hazardous material oversight and strengthen emergency response support.
Weeks after the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio — due to a defective wheel bearing in a railcar, leading to release of the dangerous material — Sen. John Fetterman co-led the original Railway Safety Act. That bill, nearly identical to the new legislation, did not make it to the Senate floor.
“It’s been three years since the toxic train derailment in East Palestine — a complete tragedy and something we could have prevented. Congress still hasn’t done anything about it,” Mr. Fetterman, Pennsylvania Democrat, said in a statement. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in reintroducing the Railway Safety Act, a commonsense bill that will hold railroads accountable and make our communities safer.”
He is joined by Sens. Maria Cantwell, Washington Democrat; Jon Husted, Ohio Republican; Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Democrat; Eric Schmitt, Missouri Republican; Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Democrat; Roger Marshall, Kansas Republican; and Bernie Moreno, Ohio Republican.
The new bill incorporates National Transportation Safety Boardrecommendations. Investigators said the derailment occurred when a bearing on a railcar failed and overheated, causing the fiery crash.
The legislation requires the use of defect detectors to make railroads stop trains when something is wrong, expands hazardous material train safety restrictions and ensures railcars are properly inspected and maintained. It also requires that states be notified of dangerous material being transported by rail.
The existing Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness grants, letting fire departments buy personal protective gear, would be expanded under the bill, and it ensures that fire departments are compensated for responding to train derailments.
Civil penalties for rail safety law violations would be 100 times larger — increasing to $10 million from $100,000.
East Palestine resident and rail safety advocate Misti Allison described the bill’s reintroduction as a “critical and welcome step forward.”
“Communities like mine know firsthand that rail safety is not a political issue. It is a public safety, environmental, and public health issue,” she said in a statement. “When a train derails, it’s not just tracks and cargo that are affected but our air, water, soil, and the long-term health of families. We owe it to communities like East Palestine and to towns across this country to strengthen oversight, increase accountability, and ensure disasters like this never happen again.”
The legislation was applauded by multiple transportation organizations, including the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department, SMART Transportation Division, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, Transport Workers Union, IAM Rail Division and Transportation Communications Union.
Greg Regan, president of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department, said over 3,000 derailments have occurred since the Norfolk Southern wreck, which a lawsuit claims led to seven people dying from the toxic chemical leak.
“Rail workers and communities living near railroad tracks deserve the peace of mind that Congress will take action on commonsense reforms and move us towards a safer rail network,” he said in a statement.
The Association of American Railroads’ vice president of communications, Ted Greener, said Congress should focus on “policies that encourage innovation and measurable safety outcomes without disrupting the supply chain or diverting resources from proven, safety-critical investments.”
• Mary McCue Bell can be reached at mbell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.