Congress Facing Pressure to Pass Railway Safety Act

(KNSI) — June is National Safety Month, and advocates are turning up the heat on Congress to pass the Railway Safety Act.

The law would increase inspections on trains that carry hazardous materials, require rail carriers to have emergency response plans, and increase penalties for rail companies when crashes happen. The goal is to prevent future derailments, such as the one in Raymond, Minnesota, in March or the devastating derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in February.

Brittney Kohler is with the National League of Cities. She says the bill is about stopping the continuous cycle of train wrecks, often with hazardous materials on board, that put communities’ health and safety at risk.

Specifically, the Department of Transportation must issue safety regulations for trains carrying hazardous materials to require that rail carriers or shippers provide state emergency response commissioners with advanced notice and information about the hazardous materials; reduce blocked rail crossings; and comply with certain requirements regarding train length and weight specifications, track standards, speed restrictions, and response plans.

DOT must also establish requirements for wayside defect detectors. These are used by railway systems alongside the tracks to detect defects and failures. Current federal regulations do not require their use, but federal guidance does address their placement and use. Under the bill, DOT must issue regulations establishing requirements for installing, repairing, testing, maintaining, and operating wayside defect detectors for each rail carrier operating a train carrying hazardous materials.

Meanwhile, Kohler says the League submitted its proposed safety recommendations. She says they include ensuring that money generated from financial fines goes to the impacted communities.

“What we hope to see is that fines will create better behavior that are more appropriate to what’s happening. And we’ve seen a lot of incidents just continue because there aren’t any consequences. And we think that these fines have an opportunity to be used for good.”

Residents of the small Kandiyohi County town of 800 people were evacuated just after 1:00 a.m. on March 30th after a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train went off the tracks on the city’s western edge and caught fire. The tankers were carrying mixed freight of ethanol and a corn syrup liquid. The cars were newer tankers that were puncture resistant.

A broken piece of track was found near the site and removed to be sent to the National Transportation Safety Board, but nothing conclusive has been identified as a cause of the Raymond derailment.

Kohler says more than 500 mayors and leaders have sent letters to Congress, calling for the timely passage of the Railway Safety Act. After clearing the committee stage last month, the bill is headed to the Senate floor.

“No family should have to fear being woken in the middle of the night and told to evacuate because of a train derailment. Derailments across the country from Raymond, Minnesota to East Palestine, Ohio underscore once again why we must pass federal rail safety legislation,” said Minnesota’s U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar. “It’s past time to put in place stronger rail safety standards and more accountability for violations. As a cosponsor of the bipartisan Railway Safety Act, I was glad to see this legislation advance, and I’m working with my colleagues to make sure it becomes law.”

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MNC Reporter Mike Moen contributed to this story.

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