Washington, D.C. — The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Frederica Wilson (D-FL), during today’s hearing, titled, “Examining the State of Rail Safety in the Aftermath of the Derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.”
Video of Larsen’s and Wilson’s opening statements can be found here and here.
More information on the hearing can be found here.
Ranking Member Larsen:
Thank you, Chairman Nehls and Ranking Member Wilson, for holding today’s hearing on rail safety.
Ensuring safety in every mode of transportation should always be this Committee’s top priority.
Since the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Committee Democrats have been calling for a rail safety hearing and rail safety legislation.
In May of 2023, every T&I Democrat signed a letter asking for a rail safety hearing, highlighting the dozens of outstanding rail safety recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Now that the NTSB has issued its final report on the derailment, Subcommittee Chairman Nehls, along with Committee Democrats Representatives Moulton, Sykes and Deluzio, have introduced rail safety legislation.
Today’s hearing is an opportunity to hear a variety of perspectives on the NTSB’s final report, which includes more than 30 additional rail safety recommendations—several of which require Congressional action.
Nearly a year and a half ago, we all watched as a giant plume of toxic fumes was released into the sky after the Norfolk Southern derailment.
Fortunately, no one died as a result of the derailment, but it remains a stark reminder of why we need to be vigilant about rail safety.
That’s why T&I Democrats held a rail safety roundtable in March to hear from communities and rail workers impacted by rail accidents.
Mayor Frank Moran of Hiram, Georgia, told members that legislation concerning blocked crossings would help his community.
National League of Cities Executive Director Clarence Anthony told members that thousands of communities across the country support common sense rail safety legislation.
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen National Legislative Representative Vince Verna expressed concern that the freight railroads continue to pile on to the tally of rail accidents and derailments.
Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers International Representative Peter Kennedy said Congress needs to make freight rail safety a priority because meaningful change is needed in the industry.
And Anna Sevi-Doss, an owner of a small business in East Palestine, Ohio, highlighted how this dangerous derailment devastated her community.
Meanwhile, rail safety accidents and incidents continue to occur. Over the last decade, the trends did not improve.
In Washington state alone, there were 193 train accidents, 71 grade crossing incidents and 167 railroad right-of-way trespasser fatalities over the last five years, including a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) derailment that spilled over 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel on the Swinomish Indian Reservation in March 2023.
While trains are getting longer, freight railroads continue to shrink their workforce. From 2015 to 2022, Class I railroads laid off 55 percent of mechanical employees, 44 percent of locomotive repair employees and 43 percent of rail car repair employees.
And in 2023, there were 114 more rail accidents than in 2022.
I look forward to this Committee passing legislation to address rail safety concerns.
The Rail Safety Enhancement Act contains the language that passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee last May. It addresses NTSB recommendations to expand the high-hazard flammable trains definition, establish requirements for wayside bearing defect detectors and accelerate the removal of DOT-111 tank cars from flammable liquids service.
The bill also provides needed funding for hazardous materials emergency responder training.
And, importantly, it mandates the Class I railroads to join the Federal Railroad Administration’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) supercharged investment in rail with $102 billion in planned funding.
Many of these investments will improve safety, along with making service improvements.
Last year, the City of Blaine, in my district, received a $9.5 million RAISE grant to begin work on the Bell Road-BNSF at-grade crossing.
That town can now begin to resolve the issues at the crossing that I first heard about more than 20 years ago as a freshman member of the House of Representatives.
I am pleased this critical project is advancing to improve safety and accessibility, reduce congestion, create more jobs and keep the regional economy moving.
The BIL includes $3 billion to separate or close grade crossings through the Railroad Crossing Elimination grant program and $5 billion to enhance the safety, efficiency and reliability of rail through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grant program.
I expect great results for communities from these grants and additional rail funding to come, but there is more to do.
I thank the Chairman, I thank the Ranking Member and witnesses, including our new member of the House of Representatives from Ohio. I look forward to hearing all of your testimony.
Ranking Member Wilson:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for convening this important hearing. The safety of freight and passenger railroads, and the communities they travel through, should be our top priority on this subcommittee.
The Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine shocked the nation, but we cannot lose sight that there have been over 1,500 rail incidents since then. In my district in Florida, collisions between cars and Brightline passenger trains remain a persistent problem. While technological solutions to improve rail safety exist, it’s clear that railroading’s overall safety culture has room to improve.
I’m thankful that Chairman Nehls has prioritized rail safety legislation, alongside other Members of this Committee: Representatives Moulton, Sykes and Deluzio. I’m hopeful that the information from today’s hearing will encourage us to mark up this legislation and send a bipartisan rail safety bill to the floor.
No transportation accident has a single cause, and the NTSB’s report on the Norfolk Southern derailment makes it clear that there were many causes of both the derailment itself and the decision to vent and burn vinyl chloride under the apparently mistaken belief that the tank cars were in imminent danger of exploding.
According to the report, 26 percent of cars that did not derail had reportable defects, despite being inspected prior to departure. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about what railroading practices need to change to catch defects like these. In the year and a half since the derailment, many media outlets have reported that carmen have had less than 90 seconds to inspect a rail car or have been pressured to release cars known to be defective.
Fortunately, after the derailment, the train in East Palestine had two crewmembers and one trainee on board that were able to respond swiftly to the accident and derailment. Thanks to their quick actions, they moved the locomotive away from the fire, preventing additional fires and dangers to the first responders and the surrounding community. If only one person had been on-board, they would not have been able to do that so quickly. I’m glad to see that Chairman Nehls’ legislation ensures two-person crews.
I am also concerned by the NTSB’s finding that despite having bearing detectors placed an average of every fifteen miles prior to the derailment site, the crew did not know that the bearing was in danger of failure before the train derailed in East Palestine. Expanding the use of hot bearing detectors will only improve rail if the detectors are active and if the spacing gives sufficient time to stop a faulty train before a catastrophic failure.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing, and I yield back.
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