CONGRESSMAN JOE MORELLE ACTS TO SUPPORT RAIL WORKER SAFETY, PREVENT FUTURE DERAILMENTS

(Washington, D.C.) — Today, Congressman Joe Morelle announced his co-sponsorship of the Rail Worker and Community Safety Act, legislation to address the underlying causes of train derailments and further ensure the safety of rail workers and communities across the country.

“In 2022, the United States saw over 1,000 train derailments, resulting in thousands of injuries and significant damage to small businesses, communities, and our environment. These frightening statistics have only continued this year, including the disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio,” said Congressman Joe Morelle. “This pattern makes one thing clear: we need common-sense legislation to make our railroads run safer, more efficiently, and help mitigate the risk of future disasters. I’m proud to announce my co-sponsorship of the Rail Worker and Community Safety Act, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to see this passed into law.”

Earlier this year, a horrific train derailment near East Palestine, Ohio, caused catastrophic damage to neighboring communities, and many of the causes of this derailment can be linked to the implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR). PSR is a system created by railroad carriers to increase profits while cutting corners on critical safety measures. If PSR continues to be the prevailing method for railroad carriers, the risk of future derailments—especially toxic ones like in East Palestine, Ohio—would rise significantly.

The Rail Worker and Community Safety Act takes a number of important, proactive steps to combat the negative effects of PSR and prevent future derailments, including:

• Instituting a variety of safety changes: mandated two-person crews, new regulation on how, when, and where hazardous materials can be transported, and create a new reporting structure for close call incidents, similar to the one used by airlines.
• Increasing funding for rail safety inspectors to help keep our workers and communities safe and address key retention issues.
• Mandating regulations regarding the use of wayside detection technologies, which are currently not regulated by the federal government.
• Codifying paid sick leave for rail workers.

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