Bipartisan group in Senate proposes rail safety bill after Ohio derailment
WASHINGTON — A group of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate is proposing legislation to mandate that the Transportation Department tighten safety rules for freight rail, the first glimmer of bipartisan activity on the issue since a train carrying hazardous materials derailed last month in East Palestine, Ohio.
The bill by Ohio Sens. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, and JD Vance, a Republican, would strengthen notification and inspection requirements for trains carrying hazardous materials, increase fines for safety violations by rail carriers and authorize $27 million for research on safety improvements. But it would stop short of dictating major regulatory changes, leaving the matter to the Transportation Department.
The bipartisan nature of the bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-fla., and Josh Hawley, R-MO. — indicates that it may be able to gain traction in the Senate, where most major legislation needs 60 votes to advance. But it is not clear whether it can draw support in the Gop-led House.
“It shouldn’t take a massive railroad disaster for elected officials to put partisanship aside and work together for the people we serve — not corporations like Norfolk Southern,” Brown said. “Rail lobbyists have fought for years to protect their profits at the expense of communities like East Palestine.”
The official response to the derailment has been characterized by intense partisanship, with Republicans criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of the accident, and savaging the president and Pete Buttigieg, the Transportation secretary. Democrats have pointed to the Trump administration loosening safety regulations.
The Senate legislation emerged a day after two House Democrats introduced a bill that would impose more stringent rules, including a slower speed limit and requirements for more sophisticated equipment, on trains carrying hazardous substances.
The bipartisan Senate bill would strengthen rail car and railway detector inspection requirements such as mandating that a hotbox detector scan trains carrying hazardous materials every 10 miles.
Federal inspectors in Ohio found that the crew was not alerted about an overheating wheel bearing until the train passed a sensor not far from where it derailed.