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5/11/2023
The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation voted 16 to 11 to advance the Railway Safety Act of 2023 (S. 576) to the Senate floor.
Introduced by U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), the bill would increase safety protocols for railroads, such as additional procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials; new requirements for wayside defect detectors; a mandated minimum of two-person train crews; and higher fines for rail safety violations.
Brown, Vance and a bipartisan group of senators introduced the bill in the aftermath of the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern Railway train in East Palestine, Ohio.
"This bipartisan legislation is focused on learning the lessons from East Palestine and helping us to avoid future accidents," said Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) in a press release. "No community should have to go through the trauma and evacuation and environmental damage that East Palestine had to go through, especially when you can prevent these from happening."
Following the committee's vote, the Association of American Railroads called on lawmakers to change the bill before the full Senate votes on it. AAR wants certain measures dropped, such as the two-person train crew requirement.
Committee negotiations before the vote resulted in "substantive improvements" that enhance rail safety and support first responders, AAR President and CEO Ian Jefferies said in a press release.
"Railroads support items of this bill and remain fully committed to working with the committee and all members of the Senate to build on these improvements, with the ultimate goal of ensuring all provisions result in meaningful data-driven safety advancements that all can support," he added.
In its current state, the bill falls short of that goal, Jefferies said.
"[C]hallenges remain with certain provisions, including those that mandate crew staffing models, expand hazmat transportation operating requirements, micromanage detector networks and unnecessarily broaden manual inspections," he said.