© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks before the highly anticipated Thanksgiving trip at O’Hare Airport in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., November 21, 2022. REUTERS /Jim Vondruska
By David Sheparson
(Reuters) – U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Sunday he would call on major railroads to improve safety after the February 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, of a train operated by norfolk south (NYSE:).
Buttigieg in a letter to Norfolk Southern Chief Executive Alan Shaw said he would also urge Congress to increase the cap on fines against railroads for safety violations “to ensure that their deterrent effect is commensurate with the economic proportions of the great railway companies of today”.
Buttigieg said he would soon outline specific safety enhancements that the railroads should take immediately. He harshly criticized them for lobbying against the steps “aimed at improving rail safety and helping keep Americans safe.”
“Major derailments in the past have been followed by calls for reform, and by vigorous resistance from your industry to increased safety measures. This must change,” Buttigieg wrote.
Buttigieg has faced harsh criticism from many Republicans in Congress for his response to the train derailment loaded with toxic chemicals that sparked a fire and sent a cloud of smoke over the city that forced thousands of residents to evacuate while rail crews drained and burned chemicals
No deaths or injuries have been reported, but residents have been demanding answers about the potential health risks.
Buttigieg’s letter emphasized “the urgent need for Norfolk Southern to demonstrate unequivocal support for the people of East Palestine and surrounding areas.”
Norfolk Southern said Sunday that it “received a copy of the secretary’s letter and is reviewing it.” Shaw said last week that the railroad had established an initial community support fund of $1 million and distributed $1.7 million in direct financial assistance to more than 1,100 families and businesses to cover evacuation costs.
“We will not let you down,” he told residents in a letter.
Buttigieg’s letter said that, in response to many derailments, two US agencies had finalized regulations on high-risk flammable trains and electronically controlled pneumatic braking (ECP).
“Instead of supporting these efforts to improve rail safety, Norfolk Southern and other rail companies spent millions of dollars in court and pressured members of Congress to oppose common sense safety regulations, stopping some altogether. and narrowing the scope of others,” Buttigieg wrote. .
“As a result, Congress enacted language that undermined USDOT’s ability to meet ECP brake requirements, and they were ultimately withdrawn under the Trump administration.”
Buttigieg said he also planned to outline “planned priority actions” by the US Department of Transportation on rail safety.
In response to the derailment, US Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell on Friday opened an investigation into the railroad’s hazardous materials safety practices.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee said Friday it planned to hold a hearing on the derailment.
In a letter to Shaw and the CEOs of the major railroad companies, Cantwell said that “every railroad must reexamine its hazmat safety practices to better protect its employees, the environment and American families and reaffirm safety as a top priority.”
The companies included Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE) Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), Canadian National, Canadian Pacific (NYSE:), CSX (NASDAQ:), Kansas City Southern (NYSE:) and Pacific Union (NYSE:).
A group representing major railroads said last week that 99.9% of all hazmat shipments reach their destination without incident and the rate of hazmat accidents has fallen by 55% since 2012.
