Buttigieg calls on railroads to improve safety after Ohio derailment

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called on the rail industry to take immediate steps Tuesday to improve safety after the derailment in Ohio, including speeding the adoption of new tank cars and providing workers with paid sick leave.

Buttigieg said his department also would begin a round of track inspections on routes used by trains carrying hazardous materials and study the possibility of issuing rules requiring railroads to adopt new braking technology on some trains. He reiterated a call he made in a letter to the chief executive of Norfolk Southern on Sunday for Congress to raise the $225,455 maximum on fines for violations of railroad safety rules.

“This represents an important moment to redouble our efforts to make this far less likely to happen again in the future,” Buttigieg said.

Buttigieg, and the Biden administration more generally, have faced criticism for their response to the derailment, with some lawmakers, officials and residents questioning whether the federal government has done enough to help. Federal officials in recent days have been seeking to demonstrate steps to hold Norfolk Southern accountable.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan is scheduled to visit the derailment site in East Palestine for a second time Tuesday. Buttigieg told reporters Monday that he also would make a trip to the community “when the time is right.”

“I am very interested in getting to know the residents of East Palestine, hearing from them about how they’ve been impacted and communicating with them about the state of the steps that we are taking,” Buttigieg said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the derailment of the 149-car Norfolk Southern train, but it could be months before agency investigators establish the cause of the incident and make safety recommendations. Nonetheless, Buttigieg said action was needed now because, at about 1,000 a year, derailments remain “far too frequent.”

In a statement Monday ahead of Buttigieg’s announcement, the Association of American Railroads, an industry group, said it would not comment on policy changes while the National Transportation Safety Board was still investigating the derailment.

“Let us be clear: railroads have no higher priority than safety,” the group said. “The industry’s track demonstrates that rail is a safe, responsible way to move the hazardous materials we all depend on across the nation.”

But the high-profile incident – characterized by images of a controlled burn of vinyl chloride that left a plume of thick, black smoke over the town – has spurred new interest in making changes to safety rules, even among some Republican lawmakers, whose party has been skeptical of regulation in the recent past.

Buttigieg referred to Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in a briefing with reporters Monday afternoon. Rubio wrote to Buttigieg last week to raise the prospect that a crew of three might be insufficient for a train of the length of the one that derailed – a comment that drew the attention of labor leaders who are backing a Biden administration proposal to require at least two crew on most trains.

Buttigieg sidestepped a question about a planned visit by former president Donald Trump to East Palestine this week, saying that as a sitting official, he didn’t want to comment on a presidential candidate.

Buttigieg’s plan includes a call for railroads to speed their adoption of a new standard of tank cars, which would bring the transition date to 2025 rather than the current legal deadline of 2029. He also called on major freight railroads to join a confidential safety program that allows employees to report concerns, a system similar to one credited with improving aviation safety.

Buttigieg also urged railroads to provide paid sick leave, arguing that a healthier workforce would work more safely. The issue was the subject of intense negotiations last year, nearly leading to a national rail strike before Congress stepped in and required workers to accept pay raises and working conditions negotiated by the White House.

But unions have continued to push for better leave, with CSX, one of the nation’s largest railroads, reaching an agreement this month to provide leave for some workers.

The Transportation Department also plans to revisit standards for a class of train that carries highly hazardous, flammable materials and is looking at the possibility of requiring a new kind of electronically controlled brakes on some trains. The Obama administration imposed a mandate that ultimately was rolled back in the Trump era. Officials have said they face obstacles to reviving it, but Buttigieg said he had directed his team to explore options and called on Congress to make it easier to require the brakes.