In a show of solidarity with the residents of East Palestine, Ohio, where a Norfolk Southern train derailed on Feb. 3, federal agencies and a bipartisan group of senators unveiled rail safety plans on Wednesday.
First, the Federal Railroad Administration announced that it intends to conduct targeted inspections on train routes with a high volume of hazardous materials traffic.
FRA will work with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to identify routes where high-hazard flammable trains travel and examine those tracks using both technology and human inspections. The FRA and PHMSA will also investigate routes where trains transport large amounts of hazardous materials. The agencies will begin by inspecting the NS route where the derailment occurred on February 3, according to the FRA on Wednesday.
The FRA will use automated track inspection technology, which the agency claims will assess the overall condition of the rail infrastructure. The FRA will also investigate whether the railroads followed track maintenance regulations. The agency’s data will be shared with railroads and railroad unions.
Through its automated track inspection program, the FRA maintains a small fleet of track geometry vehicles (ATIP).
“FRA is vigorously responding to residents of East Palestine and the surrounding areas’ concerns, and as a result of the recent derailment, we are ramping up our safety efforts across the country,” said FRA Administrator Amit Bose in a news release. “FRA will begin ATIP and visual inspections of Norfolk Southern Railway track near East Palestine. Many more inspections will follow, and the data gathered will allow us, railroads, labor, and state and local governments, to make more informed rail safety decisions and policies.”
The announcement on Wednesday came after the FRA issued a safety advisory this week asking railroads to improve safety procedures surrounding hot box detectors, which could include better data integration.
Hotbox detectors measure the temperature of passing trains’ wheel bearings. Federal investigators are investigating whether an overheated approach contributed to or caused the derailment of a Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) train in East Palestine.
The FRA’s parent agency, the United States Department of Transportation, recently urged the rail industry, through Secretary Pete Buttigieg, to participate in a program where workers can contact DOT anonymously if there are perceived issues with operations. DOT also recommended other actions, such as requiring two-person train crews and installing electronically controlled pneumatic brakes on high-hazard freight trains.
Senators are clamoring for action.
While the rail industry is under pressure from federal agencies to improve safety, it is also being scrutinized by several United States senators.
Five senators from various political parties are co-sponsoring legislation requiring railroads to notify state emergency responders when trains carrying hazardous materials pass through their states, increase penalties for violating rail safety regulations, and require train crews of at least two or more workers, among other things.
Sens. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, Sherrod Brown, R-Ohio, Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Bob Casey, D-Pa., and John Fetterman, D-Pa. are the bill’s sponsors. Several of these senators have also criticized NS and the federal government’s response to the derailment in recent weeks.
In addition to the items listed above, the bill calls for the following, according to a news release issued on Wednesday, 1st March:
- Create new safety requirements and procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials and train operations, such as DOT-111 tank car regulations, wayside detector operation, and rail car inspection frequency.
- Create new rules to prevent blocked crossings.
- Create guidelines for train size and weight.
- Provide hazmat training grants to local law enforcement and first responders, with Class I railroads paying the registration fees.
- Give the FRA $22 million in research and development grants for wayside detectors and other rail priorities and the PHMSA $5 million in expenses for developing strong tank car safety features.
Meanwhile, the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works have asked NS President and CEO Alan Shaw to testify at a Senate hearing on the environmental and public health consequences of the train derailment next week.
Brown, Vance, and Casey, as well as local and state officials and representatives from the regional and state Environmental Protection Agency, have been invited to the hearing.
