Lawmakers unveil rail safety bill

Ohio senators present new rules after crash

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Railroads including the one whose train derailed and caught fire in Ohio would have to follow new safety rules under bipartisan legislation introduced Wednesday by the state’s two U.S. senators, even as regulators plan to step up inspections on tracks carrying the most hazardous materials.

The Railway Safety Act of 2023, co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, and JD Vance, a Republican, and four others responds to the derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train in East Palestine, in northeast Ohio near Pennsylvania, on Feb. 3, when 38 cars derailed and several carrying hazardous materials burned.

Though no one was injured, nearby neighborhoods in both states were imperiled. The crash prompted an evacuation of about half the town’s roughly 5,000 residents, an ongoing multigovernmental emergency response and lingering worries among villagers of long-term health impacts.

The Federal Railroad Administration is focusing inspections on routes carrying more dangerous chemicals, starting with East Palestine, said agency administrator Amit Bose. Inspectors and automated vehicles checked roughly 180,000 miles of track nationwide last year, with more predicted this year.

“I fully recognize this derailment continues to upend daily lives. The needs of East Palestine and the rail safety needs of all communities is at the top of my mind,” Bose said. “The U.S. Department of Transportation will continue to use our tools to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for the derailment and to improve freight rail safety across the country.”

The Senate bill aims to address several key regulatory questions that have arisen from the disaster, including why Ohio was not told about the hazardous load and the crew didn’t learn sooner of an impending equipment malfunction. The proposals echo much of what Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called for last week.

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said Wednesday that he plans to testify next Thursday at a U.S. Senate hearing on the derailment. Shaw refused to testify before a Pennsylvania Senate committee and is now being subpoenaed to appear next week.

Matt Freed The Associated Press A view of the scene on Feb. 24 at the site of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that happened on Feb. 3, in East Palestine, Ohio. On Tuesday, federal regulators urged that freight railroads should re-examine the way they use and maintain the detectors along the tracks that are supposed to spot overheating bearings.