About 5,000 people had to leave their homes, more than $800 million was spent on cleanup, and a bipartisan rail safety bill in Congress was stuck after a fiery train accident in East Palestine, Ohio last year.
Members of Congress, many from Pennsylvania, are trying to make rules for rail companies stricter. They say they're facing resistance from industry lobbyists more than a year after the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment.
Both Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate, including U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, U.S. Sens. Bob Casey, and John Fetterman, have had trouble moving forward with a bill called the Railway Safety Act.
The Norfolk Southern crash happened just over the Pennsylvania line in Ohio’s Columbiana County, but it had a big impact on people in Western Pennsylvania.
Darlington, in northwestern Beaver County, is still cleaning up from the dangerous chemicals that were spilled and set on fire. And many other towns in the area are at risk of facing a similar situation, according to a report from February that was requested by Deluzio.
A study from the Congressional Research Office found that nearly half of Deluzio’s constituents live close to a freight rail line, and almost all of them live near one. In East Palestine, emergency workers had to evacuate an area that was 1 by 2 miles in size after the derailment.
Deluzio stated, "The problem of rail safety is very real and urgent for us in Western Pennsylvania, and another dangerous crash in our area could be very harmful."
Deluzio represents the 17th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, which includes part of Allegheny County and all of Beaver County.
Experts and supporters believe that if lawmakers don't take action, Western Pennsylvania, where a lot of fuel and chemicals are transported through heavily populated areas, could be in danger. Freight rail lines don't just go through Beaver County; they're in the middle of Pittsburgh, Greensburg, New Kensington, and other towns in the area.
Glenn Olcerst of Rail Pollution Protection Pittsburgh said it's just a matter of time before one or more of these communities has to deal with dangerous consequences from a derailment.
Olcerst warned, "If our representatives don’t address this, we're going to see a disaster like Norfolk's happening in a neighborhood near us soon."
Progress in legislating
Railway companies have mostly won in their efforts to fight regulations in the almost 200 years they have been operating in the United States.
Fred Millar, an independent rail advisor, doesn't think that will change any time soon.
Millar said, "Railways have always spent a lot of money on lobbying, and they have mostly defeated serious attempts at regulation, even after there’s been a new concern like the recent accident in East Palestine. They mostly get what they want."
The Railway Safety Act, which was introduced in Congress in March, is the latest battleground. It calls for making train safety procedures for hazardous materials stricter, having at least two crew members, increasing fines for doing wrong things, requiring defect detectors, and speeding up the transition to newer tank cars.
Millar said that this act should have been approved 50 years ago and shows that federal laws are trying to catch up now.
Millar mentioned that the bill is not comprehensive enough. He wants national regulations that make railroads transport safer chemical options and divert dangerous materials away from big cities.
The act includes safety measures that directly address the East Palestine derailment, which was caused by a hot wheel bearing and made worse by old train cars.
Norfolk Southern and CSX, the main Class 1 railroads in Pennsylvania, make over $250 million annually. They spent a combined $3.9 million lobbying Congress in 2023, but it's not clear what they're advocating for regarding the Railway Safety Act.
After the bill advanced out of the Senate committee process in May, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw spoke positively about the Railway Safety Act in a statement.
Shaw expressed eagerness to keep working with Congress on these issues, create a meaningful new law, and lead in industry safety measures.
Deluzio blamed colleagues for giving in to industry lobbyists and stalling the bill. Senate sponsors anticipate a close vote, while Republican House leaders have avoided it entirely.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, sponsored the Senate bill along with six Republicans and five Democrats. Deluzio sponsored the House bill with nine Republicans and eight Democrats, according to congress.gov.
The bill's supporters might face challenges, but congressional action in this area wouldn't be new.
Following a series of deadly rail accidents, Congress passed the Rail Safety Improvement Act in 2008, adding regulations on track inspections, conductor certification, and highway-rail grade crossings.
Self-regulation
Even though Norfolk Southern publicly supports policymakers' work, spokesman Connor Spielmaker said that it's not relying on legislation to take action.
The rail operator committed in January to join the Federal Railroad Administration's Confidential Close Call Reporting System, or C3RS. Norfolk Southern is the first Class 1 railroad to do so, but the one-year trial will include only a small portion of its roughly 20,000 workers.
Spielmaker also mentioned that Norfolk Southern has reduced its temperature threshold for bearing inspections and implemented other safety measures. From 2022-23, noncrossing accidents in the Norfolk Southern system decreased by 10%, including a 40% drop in mainline accidents, according to railroad administration data.
CSX did not respond to requests for comments on the legislation or safety measures.
Imminent risk
Hundreds of derailments occur each year — the railroad administration recorded 608 in 2023 — but only a small number cause death, injury, or health risks.
This month, a Norfolk Southern train went off the tracks in Lower Saucon, a township in Eastern Pennsylvania. Although the accident didn't cause much harm, Fetterman and Casey used it as proof that congressional action is still needed.
The National Transportation Safety Board discovered that the East Palestine derailment could have been relatively harmless if decision-makers had been given complete information from the chemical manufacturer.
The choice to release and burn vinyl chloride and other chemicals in the off-track cars was made by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, but local fire chiefs are in charge of the initial evacuations.
When it comes to train accidents, fire departments play a significant role. According to Chris Tantlinger, hazardous materials chief for Westmoreland County, all firefighters are trained to recognize and respond to chemicals.
Tantlinger said, “All of the local fire departments regularly schedule their hazmat operations refresher.”
Departments with enough resources, like the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, have trained hazardous materials technicians. Brian Kokkila, the bureau’s assistant chief of operations, mentioned that progress is being made behind the scenes even without new laws.
In recent years, CSX and Norfolk Southern have trained with the bureau. Kokkila described this as a learning experience for first responders and railroad safety teams. The participants must be paid for their time, though.
“The challenge is the funding,” Kokkila said. “I don’t expect a guy to go to class for free.”
The Railway Safety Act could make it easier by increasing the fees paid by Class I railroads for hazardous materials training grants.
Regardless of what happens to the bill, Kokkila mentioned that it will be the first responders who will have to deal with the consequences.
“Every disaster starts and ends at the local level,” Kokkila said.
