Representative Dina Titus (D-NV) speaks at the press conference on February 3.
This year marks three years since the devastating Norfolk Southern train derailment and fire in East Palestine, Ohio. On Tuesday, February 3, leaders of the BLET joined members of Congress, community leaders, and rail labor representatives at a bipartisan press conference on Capitol Hill to advocate for passage of the Railway Safety Act (HR 928).
“Railroad safety demands Congress’s attention,” BLET National President Mark Wallace said in a statement circulated to the news media. “On February 3, 2023, the catastrophic derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, demonstrated what happens when railroads are allowed to prioritize longer trains, fewer inspections, and increased automation over safety. With 12,000 municipalities served by railroads and more than 80 million Americans living near Class I rail lines, the stakes could not be higher. Two-person train crews, modern braking systems, stronger inspections, tougher penalties, and improved hazardous materials notification are essential to protecting railroad workers and the public. These reforms will only happen if Congress passes the Railway Safety Act.”
The February 3 press conference, hosted by the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department (TTD), included remarks by Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV), Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Mike Rulli (R-OH), John Garamendi (D-CA), and Representative Mike Lawler (R-NY). Representative DeLuzio is the lead sponsor of the Railway Safety Act (H.R. 928) and Representatives Rulli, Garamendi, and Lawler are all cosponsors of the legislation. All the Members of Congress voiced bipartisan support for rail safety reform in their remarks.
“Let me put this very clearly on the record,” said Titus, the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Railroads subcommittee. “I won’t agree to any surface transportation bill as a four-corners deal or whatever that doesn’t have a strong rail safety title.”
In addition to speaking at the news conference, Rep. Deluzio and others posted to social media. Here’s a link to the Congressman’s remarks on X (formerly Twitter).
The Railway Safety Act includes measures that will keep workers and communities safe, including but not limited to:
- Requiring two crewmembers to operate a train to avert a situation where only one person is present to respond to an emergency
- Increasing the types of hazardous materials subject to enhanced safety protections, such as vinyl chloride, which was involved in Norfolk Southern’s East Palestine derailment
- Requiring railroads to use defect detectors to help prevent derailments
- Barring railroads from setting unsafe time limits on railcar, locomotive, and brake inspections
- Holding railroads accountable for safety violations through increased fines
Representative Mike Lawler (R-NY) speaks at the press conference on February 3.
