Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wants the nation’s freight railroads to act immediately to improve safety while regulators try to strengthen safety rules in the wake of a fiery derailment in Ohio.
Buttigieg said railroads and tank car owners should take action themselves to accelerate their plan to upgrade the tank cars that haul flammable liquids like crude oil and ethanol by 2025 instead of waiting to comply with the 2029 standard Congress ultimately approved after regulators suggested the earlier deadline.
“I do think that there’s a moment to look in the mirror as an entire industry and decide what we can do better,” Regan said. “I think the industry by and large has been reluctant to make the types of changes that are needed. They have obviously fought regulations in the past, but I think they are running out of excuses here.”
Buttigieg criticized railroads for lobbying against the braking rule and challenging it in court. But railroad safety expert David Clarke, who previously led the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee, said the industry shouldn’t be criticized too heavily for pushing back against proposed regulations when there are questions about their benefits.
The Federal Railroad Administration will also work to finalize its proposed rule to require two-person crews in most circumstances that Buttigieg pointed to as one of the Biden administration’s main efforts to improve rail safety over the past two years.The president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, Eddie Hall, said he believes the freight railroads’ efforts to cut crews down to one person represent a clear threat to safety.
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