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From staff reports
With railroad safety still in the headlines, U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-4th) this month joined 15 other Members of Congress in writing a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg urging the Department to implement stronger rail safety standards, specifically mandating the use and maintenance of wayside detector systems.
Wayside defect detector systems are rail safety tools that monitor performance and can predict future failures. Even though the Federal Railroad Administration has issued guidance on the requirements of wayside detector systems, there is no federal regulation mandating their use.
“Rail companies are far too powerful, and their regulation is far too weak,” García said. “Our largest railroads are becoming less and less safe, and the derailment in East Palestine [Ohio] is a tragic reminder of this fact. Chicagoland is the heart of our country’s rail network, and our communities bear the burden when things go wrong. Wayside defect detector systems can help prevent derailments and other accidents. It’s the Department of Transportation’s job to keep our railways safe, and the federal mandate of wayside defect detector use should be an obvious step.”
The Fourth Congressional District includes most of the Southwest Side, as well as other city neighborhoods and suburban towns.
“Our first commitment must be to the people of East Palestine, whose lives were turned upside down by this devastating derailment,” added U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat. “Rail companies that amass billions in profit must stop lobbying against common sense safety regulations, such as the implementation of wayside defect detectors or hot bearing detectors that could have made a huge difference. We also should consider a safety inspection program for trains carrying large volumes of hazardous materials, a faster process for approving safer tank cars for transporting hazardous materials, and higher maximum fines. Furthermore, Congress should strengthen the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) so that it can guard against future environmental and safety crises like this one.”
New Mexico Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury said the safety of rail workers and communities “should be the number one priority. Rail workers in New Mexico and across the country have been sounding the alarm on the unsafe practices of rail corporations for years. It is time we listen and act. The Biden-Harris Administration has already made progress on rail safety–but there is much more work to do. I am leading this letter with Representatives García and Johnson to make our railways safer, hold railway companies accountable, and follow our workers’ lead—because we have seen the consequences of leaving rail companies to their own devices.”
Local congressmen signing the letter include Delia Ramirez (D-3rd), Danny Davis (D-7th) and Jan Schakowsky (D-9th).
A copy of the letter can be found at https://chuygarcia.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/chuygarcia.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/usdot-rail-safety-letter.pdf