U.S. DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently called on U.S. railroads to provide proactive advance notification to state emergency response teams when they are transporting hazardous gas tank cars through their states instead of expecting first responders to look up this information after an incident occurs.

This was in reaction to the catastrophic crash last month in East Palestine, Ohio.

While US DOT is also pursuing further requirements in this area, the secretary stated that “railroads should not wait.”

“Profit and expediency must never outweigh the safety of the American people,” Buttigieg announced Tuesday. “We at USDOT are doing everything in our power to improve rail safety, and we insist that the rail industry do the same - while inviting Congress to work with us to raise the bar.”

The reforms demand that railroads take several actions, including requiring the owners of tank cars to expedite the phase-in of safer (DOT 117) tank cars and to offer paid sick leave for rail workers; call on Congress to increase maximum fines that US DOT can issue to rail companies for violating safety regulations up from the current maximum fine of $225,455; and state that US DOT will advance the train crew size rule and initiate a focused safety inspection program on routes over which trains with large volumes of hazardous material travel, according to information from US DOT.

On Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman and others introduced the bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023 to prevent future train disasters like the derailment that devastated East Palestine and neighboring Darlington Township, Pennsylvania. The bill seeks to improve rail safety protocols, such as enhancing safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials, establishing requirements for wayside defect detectors, creating a permanent requirement for railroads to operate with at least two-person crews, increasing fines for wrongdoing committed by rail carriers, and more.

“The Norfolk Southern train derailment left Pennsylvania and Ohio families, businesses, and first responders grappling with a disaster that spilled hazardous materials in their community. It shouldn’t have happened here and it shouldn’t happen anywhere else in America,” Casey said. “The Railway Safety Act will make freight rail safer, hold rail companies accountable for putting communities and workers in harm’s way, and protect people over profits.”