To Prevent Future Derailments, Reps. Stansbury, García, Johnson Lead 13 Members of Congress to Urge DOT to Mandate Stronger Rail Safety Standards

WASHINGTON—Last night, U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01), a member of the House Labor Caucus, led a letter with Representatives Jesús “Chuy'' García (Ill.-04) and Hank Johnson (Ga.-04) and 13 other Members of Congress 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 crucial 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 still no federal regulation mandating their use. New Mexico’s thousands of rail workers maintain thousands of miles of interstate and international freight rail commerce.

“With increasingly dangerous derailments across the United States, the safety of our 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,” said Rep. Stansbury. “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.”

“Rail companies are far too powerful and their regulation is far too weak. Our largest railroads are becoming less and less safe, and the derailment in East Palestine is a tragic reminder of this fact,” said Rep. García. “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.”

“Our first commitment must be to the people of East Palestine, whose lives were turned upside down by this devastating derailment,” said Rep. Johnson. “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.”

The 13 other members joining the letter are: Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán (Calif.-44), Congressman Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.-16), Congresswoman Shontel Brown (Ohio-11), Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (Fla.-20), Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (N.J.-12), Congressman Danny Davis (Ill.-07), Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (Calif.-10), Congresswoman Barbara Lee (Calif.-12), Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (Del.), Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (Ill.-03), Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (Ill.-09), Congressman Darren Soto (Fla.-09), Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (Mich.-12).

A copy of the letter can be found here and below:

Dear Secretary Buttigieg,

Although we recognize the U.S. Department of Transportation’s ongoing efforts to investigate the recent rail derailments by Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS), the Department must take a bolder approach to prevent future accidents. We strongly urge the Department to mandate new rail safety standards that address the maintenance and use of wayside defect detectors, or hot bearing detectors (HBD), as indicated in the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)’s recent 2023-01 Safety Advisory.

The Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970 makes FRA responsible for all aspects of rail safety, including railroad operations and the condition of track supports. Under Subtitle V of Title 49 USC, the FRA has the authority to issue regulations and orders pertaining to rail safety and to issue civil and criminal penalties to enforce those regulations and orders. Although the FRA has issued guidance regarding the requirements of wayside detector systems,1 there is no federal requirement mandating its use.

The safety record of several of the Class I railroads has worsened over the past several years since Precision Scheduled Railroading was implemented. Per FRA’s own data, Union Pacific’s rate of accident and incidents per million train miles went from 10.457 in 2013 to 14.042 in 2021 and the rate of yard accidents and incidents went from 12.656 in 2013 to 19.568 in 2021. CSX’s rate of accidents and incidents per million train miles went from 9.771 in 2013 to 14.046 in 2021 and the rate of yard accidents and incidents went from 8.871 in 2013 to 15.985 in 2021. NS’s rate of accidents and incidents per million train miles went from 11.396 in 2013 to 14.428 in 2021 and the rate of yard accidents and incidents went from 8.459 in 2013 to 23.596 in 2021.2 To prevent the increase in train accidents and incidents per mile that has happened over the last several years, the Department must take bold steps, including regulating the rail industry’s use of wayside defect detectors to ensure they function as intended.

The critical role of wayside defect detectors can prevent fatal accidents from occurring. The wayside detectors technologies not only monitor rolling stock equipment performance, but the associated data from the wayside detector’s technologies can also be used to predict future failures. More specifically, rail companies use sensors alongside the tracks called wayside bearing failure detectors, to identify overheating bearings and address them before axle failure and resulting derailments occur. NS and the other Class I railroads have indicated that they plan to expand their use of wayside defect detectors going forward. The lack of any current federal regulations on a key safety technology is extremely concerning and should be corrected.

Comprehensive regulation of wayside detectors should include mandating minimum inspection periods, maintenance and testing standards, and repair requirements. We commend the Departments indication of that in their FRA 2023-01 Safety Advisory. Itadvises rail companies to evaluate the thresholds for inspections based on hot bearing detectors (HBD) data, consider the use of real-time trend analysis of HDB data as criteria for inspection, ensure proper training qualifications are met, ensure the inspection and maintenance of HBDs, ensure proper inspection of rolling stock with HBD alerts and improve the safety culture of the organization, particular as it pertains to operational decisions based on HBD data.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We strongly urge the Department to mandate federal requirements for implementation of the wayside detectors in their rule making process given the railroad industry’s reliance on wayside detectors and the current lack of federal regulations on their use. Mandating this through the rule making process will greatly improve safety for rail workers and protect our communities from future devastation and strengthen our supply chains.