LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan legislator has introduced bills seeking to require two-person operating crews in the state, as well as limiting train size.
Both bills introduced by State Sen. Erika Geiss (D-Taylor, Mich.) would amend the state railroad code of 1993. Senate Bill No. 100 would require freight trains to have two-person crews, while SB 139 would limit trains to 7,500 feet. Violations would lead to fines of up to Both bills are currently in the Senate Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
WMMT-TV reports that Geiss says bills would have been introduced even without the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment, because of “things that we are seeing, and then you add on top of that the derailment factor.”
But Sen. Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan, Mich.) told the station he opposes the bills because he doesn’t think they “do a hill of beans when it comes to whatever issues have led to derailments such as East Palestine and other places where they have serious track maintenance issues.”
The Michigan Railroads Association, which represents 29 rail companies in the state, is “strongly opposed” to both bills,. Jon Cool, president of the association, says the legislation “would provide no additional safety benefits … and would instead impede technological advances.” He also indicates the matters are not subject to state-level regulation.
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