Three Republican Pennsylvania lawmakers are preparing to introduce a resolution calling on Congress to pass a new rail-safety statute in light of February’s train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
State Representative Jim Marshall (R-Beaver Falls) (pictured above) told The Pennsylvania Daily Star he is co-sponsoring the resolution to encourage an “all-in approach” to reduce the likelihood of freight-train accidents. State Representatives Natalie Mihalek (R-Pittsburgh) and Ryan Warner (R-Connellsville) spearhead the measure.
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee expects to vote next Wednesday on the Railway Safety Act of 2023. Senators J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) authored the legislation, and Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) co-sponsored it. The same lawmakers last month broadened their effort by proposing the Railway Accountability Act. The bills would enhance standards for wayside defect detectors and establish minimum of two-person crews.
The senators introduced their bill in response to the Ohio incident in which a train carrying hazardous vinyl chloride derailed. Railway operator Norfolk Southern then vent and burned five cars carrying the substance. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) later denounced the incineration, though he initially supported the plan, claiming Norfolk Southern initially stated it would only burn one car.
The representative said that reported health and environmental consequences endured by eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania residents, including some in Marshall’s district, should move lawmakers to lessen the dangers of freight rail, a mode of shipping he said he nonetheless strongly supports.
“I believe that the Railway Safety Act is heading in the right direction,” he said. “I’m sure there are challenges with it…. I’m just calling on Congress to enact some form of rail-safety measure; I want to make every effort that every legislative body is looking into what can be done for rail safety.”
Many critics of overregulation have expressed concern about the Railway Safety Act. Nonprofits, including the Competitive Enterprise Institute and FreedomWorks, outlined their objections in a March 13 letter. Therein, they wrote that the act would characterize nearly all freight trains as hazardous-material vehicles, subjecting them to what the authors consider unnecessary control by the Department of Transportation. They also asserted that the bill’s new time requirements for inspections could compromise the quality of those inspections and that the crew-size rule would benefit unions who demand staffing increases.
Marshall said he takes the criticisms seriously. He also said he wants to ensure that new measures allow for technological progress regarding hazard detection.
“Certainly there are concerns…,” he said. “And certainly if we mandate one technology — if we say it has to be transponders or a device on the rail — and then technology moves forward and we find that… some other type of satellite device might enhance rail safety better — I don’t want to be locked into something.”
Marshall is also co-sponsoring state rail legislation that passed the Pennsylvania House Consumer Protection Committee earlier this month, though Mihalek and Warner voted against that bill. The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry recommended that lawmakers hold off on approving that measure which would toughen maintenance and oversight standards for wayside hotbox detectors, limit freight-train length, set a minimum number of staff per train, facilitate violation reporting and strengthen safety compliance.
The representative said he believes train-length limits will help to ensure that rail crossings aren’t impeded too long when emergency responders need access. He further opined that minimum crew numbers are needed to guarantee someone is on hand to decouple train cars when circumstances warrant it.
“[The bill] could be, and I’m sure will be, amended before it comes to a floor vote,” he said. “So, I’m not locked into one specific piece of legislation.”
While derailments have become a major concern among policymakers, such incidents causing the release of hazmats have dropped dramatically over the last half-century. A recent analysis by the D.C.-based Cato Institute determined that freight-train wrecks peaked at 36,786 in 1978 and declined to 3,037 last year. The think tank also found that the number of derailed train cars discharging toxic substances fell from 205 to 15 over those same years.
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Bradley Vasoli is managing editor of The Pennsylvania Daily Star. Follow Brad on Twitter at @BVasoli. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Jim Marshall” by Jim Marshall. Background Photo “Norfolk Southern” by Jud McCranie. CC BY-SA 4.0.
