Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg talks railroad safety, East Palestine derailment
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Nearly one month after the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, it's hard to not hear a mention of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
However, that wasn't the case at the start. It took him 10 days to address the toxic crash publicly and nearly three weeks to see the wreckage and meet with community members in person, creating some lack of trust.
Now he's on a track to make change in one of the most powerful industries in the country. KDKA-TV spoke with him exclusively on Thursday.
"They just want good facts, good information and they want to make sure that there will be accountability and that they will be safe," Buttigieg said Thursday.
Just one week ago he traveled to the site of the toxic train derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, and he left with a few takeaways.
"The experience of walking among these twisted, burned tank cars, and the importance of rail safety regulation," Buttigieg said.
The latter is what he's focused on.
"We're making sure we're doing everything with the tools we have, but also calling on the railroads to do better and calling on the congress to do more," Buttigieg said.
These three parts make up his rail safety plan announced early last week.
One aspect called on railroad companies to join a confidential close call reporting system that encourages workers to report safety hazards by protecting them from retaliation when they come forward. When Buttigieg didn't hear back, he follow up with a letter on Monday, giving the companies an end-of-week deadline.
On Thursday afternoon, he learned all seven major freight railroads, including Norfolk Southern, agreed to participate.
"I'm waiting to hear from them individually, and we got to do the paperwork to get them signed up," Buttigieg said.
It comes on the heels of two other updates. The Federal Railroad Administration shared plans to prioritize inspections of routes where hazardous materials are carried, and Pennsylvania and Ohio senators proposed new legislation to enhance safety protocols.
"This is a moment when we can get more done than would have been thought possible before, in terms of having the highest standards of accountability and safety for the sake of communities and of course, for workers whose lives depend on the safety of our railroad systems," Buttigieg said.
Among the improvements, railroad companies would be required to notify states ahead of time if cars are transporting hazardous materials and to have at least two-person crews on every train. It also would establish standards for hotbox detectors, which currently aren't regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration.
"We're working to make sure that everyone understands the urgency of getting this done and moving quickly," Buttigieg said.
His response to the Feb. 3 crash hasn't come without controversy.
"I think it's probably safe to say this is the most cabinet level presence there's ever been on a modern derailment site, and I think that reflects how seriously this administration takes this situation," Buttigieg said.
He hopes to move forward, make it right for those impacted by the derailment and do what he can to prevent it from happening in the future.
"Now is an opportunity to support real change, and we're going to keep driving it with every tool that we have here at the department," Buttigieg said.
Railroad workers tell KDKA-TV they also would like to see the government stop share buyback programs and make sure the rail system puts more emphasis on returning capital back to the infrastructure.
Buttigieg said he agrees about the strength of the industry, but he didn't say whether he would restrict these programs.
