U.S. Department of Transportation recently marked substantial progress toward implementing more robust rail safety regulations and greater accountability.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urged Norfolk Southern and the freight railroad industry to take immediate action to ensure worker safety, according to a Feb. 21 news release.
"I'll work with anyone who's serious about strengthening accountability and safety for freight railroads. Protecting workers and communities from disaster shouldn't be partisan," said Pete Buttigieg in a March 5 post on Twitter.
He called on the industry to participate in Federal Railroad Administration's Confidential Close Call Reporting Program, use new inspection technologies without abandoning human inspections, hasten the adoption of safer tank cars before the mandated deadline of 2029, inform state emergency response teams proactively when transporting hazardous gas tank cars and offer paid sick leave to their workers, according to the release.
The new legislation would strengthen safety requirements for trains carrying hazardous materials, require hotbox detectors every 10 miles, increase fees for railroads to train first responders and increase fines for safety violations, according to a March 3 release. Additional measures such as requiring state-of-the-art braking systems, more federal safety inspections, investing in worker safety, fortifying state emergency management and response and holding companies accountable for immediate and long-term damage are also suggested.
The FRA announced a national initiative to inspect routes transporting high-hazard flammable trains and other trains carrying significant amounts of hazardous materials in a March 1 release. Working with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the FRA will prioritize these routes for inspection, starting in East Palestine, Ohio, and expanding to other areas across the U.S., which includes mandating two-person train crews, scrutinizing legacy tank cars and exploring rules for electronically controlled pneumatic brakes on HHFTs and trains carrying hazardous materials.
"I applaud the bipartisan group of senators for proposing rail safety legislation that provides many of the solutions that my administration has been calling for. This legislation provides us with tools to hold companies accountable to prevent terrible tragedies like the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine and to make those communities whole," President Joe Biden said in an official statement March 2.
