Railway Safety Act will help protect communities

It’s rare when the country is faced with a serious problem and there is bipartisan support in Congress to fix it. But such is the case with railroad safety.

The Railway Safety Act was spurred by the February derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that spilled hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride and ethylene glycol, into a ditch that feeds a stream leading to the Ohio River. The small community’s resources were overtaxed as it dealt with the spill. Fortunately, there was no loss of life.

The railroad safety bill recently passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., chairs. It is now before the full Senate, where it deserves support.

The legislation mandates that railroad companies use, among other things, defect detectors and make them more frequent near urban areas. Investigators say such measures could have prevented the Norfolk Southern Ohio derailment. The bill also would empower the Department of Transportation to require railroads stop trains when these technologies identify something is wrong. In addition, the bill has a requirement that all trains operated by Class I railroads have two crew members onboard.

Especially vital to Washington, the bill requires that railroads notify states about the types and frequency of trains carrying hazardous material through the state, and expands the types of chemicals that trigger specific safety requirements.

In Washington, 44 million tons of hazardous materials are transported in the state each year by rail, including 4 million gallons of crude oil. Under this bill, crude oil trains with 20 tank cars or more would be subject to a speed limit of 50 mph, lowering the requirement from the current 35 tank cars or more.

The bill also helps fund local fire departments that must respond to such incidents. It strengthens emergency response plans and puts more money into reimbursement of local responding agencies.

The teeth of the bill is in the fines if a railroad company is found to have violated safety rules. It increases the maximum statutory civil penalty from $100,000 to $10 million.

In addition to Cantwell, Ohio Sens. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, and J.D. Vance, a Republican support the safety act. Bipartisanship is always welcome when proposed legislation addresses the public’s safety. The Railway Safety Act is an example of such and should become law.