Pennsylvania and Ohio lawmakers propose bill to improve safety protocols in railroad industry
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Railroad safety is at top of mind after a Norfolk Southern train derailed near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border nearly a month ago.
On Wednesday Pennsylvania and Ohio senators proposed a new bipartisan law to try to improve safety protocols in the industry.
Locomotive engineer Michael Paul and his colleagues who work on the railroad have wanted to see safety changes within the industry for a long time. Nearly one month after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that may finally happen.
"The railroads need to realize they don't live in a vacuum," said Paul, who is also a member of the advocacy organization Railroad Workers United.
U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D) and John Fetterman (D) of Pennsylvania, along with U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D) and JD Vance of Ohio, introduced new legislation Wednesday with U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R) of Florida, and Senator Josh Hawley (R) of Missouri, to try to prevent train crashes like the one in East Palestine in the future.
"This should have been done years ago if not decades ago, and it shouldn't require the federal government stepping in," Casey said. "It's about as broad and comprehensive in rail safety measures I've seen in my time in the Senate."
The lawmakers are calling it the Railway Safety Act of 2023. Regulations would include enhancing safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials by requiring companies to notify states ahead of time about what they're transporting.
The bill would also mandate two-person crews on every train.
"The railroads have been pushing really hard to eliminate the second crew member on trains and much to the detriment of public safety," Paul said. "I love that this bill, with very few exemptions, would actually mandate finally two people on every train. A qualified conductor and a qualified engineer."
Another significant part of the proposal is establishing standards for wayside defect detectors, which right now aren't regular by the Federal Railroad Administration.
"They tamper with the exit messages and make it to where the crew does not necessarily know whether the bearing on their train is increasing in temperature," Paul claimed.
One thing Paul still feels needs to be done is to stop share buyback programs within the railroad companies.
"I believe that any program that actually is trying to expand the railroads development in this country and the safety in the reliability of the rail system needs to put more of an emphasis on returning capital back to the infrastructure itself," Paul said.
However, overall, he said this is a step in the right direction.
"When you affect the general public by your cuts and by your experiments on the general public, you no longer have the right to autonomy to just claim that you're a private company. That's where the railroads need to be brought back in and brought to heel on these regulations," Paul said. "We've got to keep the pressure on these companies. We can't let them get away with this."
Casey said it will be critical to expedite this bill, and that Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer indicated he wanted to get it done.
Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose also announced Wednesday that it is prioritizing inspection of routes where hazardous materials are carried in wake of the recent derailment.