WASHINGTON — Expect changes today when the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation votes on the Railway Safety Act, the bipartisan bill introduced in March in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment.
The American Chemistry Council and Association of American Railroads both issued statements Tuesday in favor of an amended version of the bill which was introduced Tuesday by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and JD Vance (R-Ohio). The original version of the bill is available here but text of the amended version has not yet been reported.
A press release from committee Democrats on today’s planned vote summarizes features of the bill, but does not mention the original provision limiting train length or weight, or one which would have hastened the phase-out of DOT-111 tank cars. It is not clear if that indicates those provisions have been removed.
The ACC statement said the new version “significant improvements to the Railway Safety Act that will help prevent future incidents, strengthen emergency response and support the safe movement of chemicals vital to everyday life,” while an AAR representative said, “Negotiations on the Rail Safety Act have yielded improvement, but challenging provisions remain that must be resolved. AAR and its members will continue to work with the committee to address the remaining obstacles and advance smart policies that are driven by data, focused on safety and avoid unintended negative consequences for the supply chain.”
Other amendments are possible. Fox Business reports one would provide funding for some U.S. transit systems to address defect detectors required by the bill.
The committee meeting is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EDT. The Railway Safety Act, S.576, is one of six bills on the agenda.
I se that already Ted Cruz and other Republicans have come against any more rail safety because it will increase costs to the customers. So how much , again , did this derailment cost ?
If the AAR supports the bill, we know the lobbyists have prevailed. Removing train length is the big tell.