Here’s how to avoid another train crash in eastern Palestine before it’s too late

[image error]

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

More than six weeks have passed since a Norfolk Southern train derailed in the small Ohio town in eastern Palestine. Toxic chemicals were released into the area and the lives of over 5,000 Americans were changed forever.

The American people were rightly terrified by the images of a huge black plume of smoke and toxic chemicals in nearby streams. There are over 1,000 train derailments, and they are right to fear that their hometown may be next.

The US government must provide the American people with the security of knowing that what happened in eastern Palestine will not happen again. We worked across the aisle with our fellow Democrats to introduce the Railroad Safety Act, targeted bipartisan legislation to raise the standards to which the rail industry is held.

The American public supports our proposal. The overwhelming majority, seventy-six percent, of Americans believe the railroad industry should be subject to additional safety guidelines, and fifty-three percent of them specifically believe that the derailment in eastern Palestine could have been avoided by stricter security protocols.

NTSB CALLS OHIO TRAIN DERAILMENT ‘100% PREVENTABLE’, SAYS OPERATORS WERE WARNED OF OVERHEATED AXLE

While the cleanup of remaining hazardous materials in eastern Palestine must be the focus of the Biden administration, Congress can take immediate action to significantly reduce the risks of an equally catastrophic event by passing our legislation.

First, the Railway Safety Act would require trains carrying hazardous materials to be scanned by wayside flaw detectors, or “hot box detectors,” every ten miles to prevent future derailments caused by rolling overs. faulty wheel. The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the derailment in eastern Palestine makes it clear that the accident was caused by a catastrophic wheel bearing failure that would have been detected by the more frequent placement of hotbox detectors. .

NORFOLK SOUTHERN CEO ‘DEEPLY SORRY’ FOR EASTERN PALESTINE DISASTER, SAYS COMPANY WILL ‘FIX THIS’

Second, our legislation requires railroads to provide advance notification to state emergency response commissions when transporting hazardous materials. Without this critical protocol, firefighters may end up responding to train derailments without knowing the potentially hazardous materials they contain. Under no circumstances should our firefighters risk their lives on limited information.

Third, the bill further discourages railways from engaging in reckless practices. It increases the maximum fine for safety violations from $225,000 to 1% of a railroad’s operating profit. Norfolk Southern posted an operating profit of $4.8 billion last year.

For a company of their size, a quarter million dollar penalty is just the cost of doing business. With this provision, they would face a fine of almost $50 million for the derailment in eastern Palestine – a justifiable penalty given the public resources and taxpayers’ money spent on emergency response and cleanup following their mistake.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE AVIS NEWSLETTER

The Railway Safety Act would also require railroads to operate with at least two crews and increase HAZMAT registration fees to fund emergency responder training. The bill also calls for investment in research to develop advanced safety designs for the freight railcars of the future.

A black plume rises over Eastern Palestine, Ohio following the controlled detonation of part of the derailed Norfolk and South on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar ) (The Associated Press)

Railroads have been a key circulatory system of American industry for over a century and a half. They have connected our shores and brought prosperity to our hearts. They will be integral to America’s economic renewal for years to come, from relocating our country’s supply chains to reviving our manufacturing base. But first, they must be made safe and secure. Railroads can’t help rebuild America if they can destroy its small towns without consequence.

The way forward for this bill is clear. The Senate Majority Leader and the President pledged to do what it takes to make it law, and a bipartisan group from the Ohio delegation introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

This legislation should be of particular interest to our Republican colleagues. American railroads run through their rural districts and red communities. When derailments occur, it is overwhelmingly Republican voters — their constituents — who suffer and rush to put out the fires.

We owe it to them to keep the rail industry at a higher level, and the Railway Safety Act will do just that.

Republican Marco Rubio represents Florida in the US Senate.

Republican Josh Hawley represents Missouri in the US Senate.

Republican JD Vance represents Ohio in the United States Senate.

Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.

goadnews

Victoriafox