One-year past Norfolk Southern East Palestine derailment, Cantwell calls for passage of Railway Safety Act

As February 3 marked the one-year anniversary of the derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train, transporting hazardous materials, on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation took the opportunity to make the case for Congress to sign off on the Railway Safety Act, which was approved by the committee in May 2023 and now continues to await Senate approval.

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation said in a statement that in the year since the East Palestine derailment, rail safety has headed in the wrong direction.

“The number of derailments since East Palestine has increased by over 13 percent while most railroads have failed to follow through on their simple commitment to join the Department of Transportation’s close call reporting program,” she said. “With over 80 million Americans living within one mile of a Class I railroad track, Congress must pass the Railway Safety Act to strengthen oversight over the railroads and get safety back on track.”

The Railway Safety Act was introduced on March 1, 2023 by its lead co-sponsors from Ohio, Sherrod Brown (D) and J.D. Vance (R).

As previously reported, the National Safety Transportation Board (NTSB) said in a February 14, 2023 update that as a result of the derailment, 38 rail cars derailed and a fire ensued which damaged an additional 12 cars, adding that there were 20 total hazardous material cars in the train—11 of which derailed. And on February 23, 2023, in its preliminary report, it said that surveillance video from a local residence showed what appeared to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment. It added that the wheel bearing and affected wheelset were collected as evidence to be examined by the NTSB. 

The legislation is comprised of the following provisions, which were included in a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation fact sheet:

• mandating the use of defect detection technology which could have prevented the East Palestine derailment, making them more frequent near dense urban areas;
• expanding the types of hazardous materials, like the vinyl chloride carried by the East Palestine train, that trigger increased safety regulations, including speed restrictions, better braking, and route risk analysis;
• improving emergency response by providing states information about the hazardous materials being transported by rail through their communities and strengthening railroad emergency response plans;
• preventing 30-second railcar inspections and mandates a new requirement that ensures railcars are properly maintained;
• increasing penalties for violations of rail safety law to ensure safety laws are taken seriously; and
• requiring two crewmembers to operate a train to prevent a situation where only one person is on the train in an emergency, among others

A letter penned to the United States Senate in June 2023 by a foursome made up of modal and industry associations—American Apparel & Footwear Association, Consumer Brands Association, Intermodal Association of North America, and the Transportation Intermediaries Association—made the case for the Senate to be careful and diligent, when it comes to voting on the legislation.

The letter explained that while rail transportation is “broadly” safe and intermodal rail transportation is “particularly” safe, railroads need to work to further improve its safety record, adding that based on 2022 Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) train incident accident data showed that the mainline train accident rate and the hazardous material accident rate are both near all-time national lows.

“As Congress debates rail safety legislation, the undersigned organizations urge you to evaluate carefully whether any data demonstrates that a given policy would actually improve safety and reduce accidents,” the letter stated. “For example, several provisions currently under consideration regarding train consist and length, crew size, and operating practices not only remain entirely untested but fail to recognize the day-to-day realities of intermodal operations as well as potential unintended consequences—particularly on supply chain fluidity. Such provisions are not supported by data and would likely disrupt industry modernization, competition, and efficiency. Moreover, many of these provisions are unrelated to the recent derailments and redundant with regulatory actions already underway. In short, while rail shippers and intermodal providers vigorously promote rail safety, legislation should not substantially change the current laws without attendant safety benefits.”

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has previously stated said that more work needs to be done to ensure that the rulemaking proceedings in the legislation “are driven by data, focused on safety and avoid unintended negative circumstances for the supply chain.”

In a 2023 interview with LM, AAR President & CEO Ian Jefferies said that the focus on railroad safety has been prevalent, especially going back to the East Palestine derailment. And he noted that the Federal Railroad Administration’s 2022 railroad safety statistics are very encouraging.

As an example, he observed that the mainline accident rate in 2022 was at its lowest level it has ever been in the entire history of railroading and down 49% over the last 20 years, with derailment rates, while largely down, were slightly up annually, driven by incidents in rail yards, with track-caused derailments at an all-time low, as was the employee casualty rate, which he said is a major focus, as the industry wants all of its workers to be safe, and the hazmat accident rate was also at an all-time low.

Addressing the Railway Safety Act of 2023, Jefferies said he understands the need for the Ohio Senators Vance and Brown to introduce and sponsor it.

“They want to be responsive and take responsible steps to reduce the likelihood of a similar incident occurring again,” he said. “And I certainly don’t fault them for that. I have said publicly that we see a feasible path forward on almost every one of the provisions on the bill. My definition of feasible might be different from others. But I generally think there's an agreeable path forward on most things. There's going to be some areas where we just, you know, have to draw a line in the sand, and that may be the way it has to be. If there are smart things to do on safety, we're going to be right there, supporting and trying to be part of the solution. Nothing happens in a vacuum, and nothing happens overnight. But we'll be engaged throughout the process.”

And in an interview with LM late last year, Jefferies said while railroad safety legislation churns its way through Congress, railroads are not sitting around waiting idly.

Instead, he said, the industry has taken a number of steps over the last several months to address things it saw out of that incident. One was first responders, with the AAR now having made its AskRail mobile app, which helps emergency responders effectively and safely respond to incidents by providing immediate information about railcars carrying hazmat, available to roughly 2.3 million first responders.

And he added that steps have been collectively taken by railroads as an industry to adopt new standards and thresholds for hotbox detectors or trending analyses for when a train should be pulled out of service.

“We are not waiting to be told what do here,” he said. “When we see an opportunity to make the right move to advance safety, we are going to do it period,” he said.”

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said on the company’s fourth quarter earnings call last week that the East Palestine derailment tested the company’s resolve, adding that he was proud that its team responded decisively and responsibly to protect the company and its shareholders, and to address the community’s concerns.  

“With an unwavering commitment, we have strengthened our safety and service,” he said. “We have kept and will continue to keep our promises to make things right in Ohio, to improve our service to our customers, and to make a safe railroad even safer. A crisis allows you to accelerate change, and we acted. This includes a number of positive changes to how we design the network and assemble trains with measurable results. Our improvement in safety is already being highlighted by a dramatic 42% reduction in our mainline accident rate in 2023.”