What's in the proposed U.S. Railway Safety Act?

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New legislation introduced on Wednesday, March 1, by three U.S. Republican senators and three Democratic senators, proposes to crackdown on railroad practices in the country.

The bill was introduced as a response to the safety disaster near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border last month, when a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed, potentially contaminating the air and water surrounding the small community of East Palestine, Ohio.

The proposed bipartisan legislation would require a mandatory minimum of two-person crews on U.S. trains.

Funding for updated rail cars will be included in the bill. The U.S. Transportation Department would also be required to establish new safety regulations for trains transporting hazardous materials that are not already labeled as “high-hazard flammable” trains.

States that hazardous-material trains pass through must be notified ahead of time.Train lengths and speeds would have certain limits imposed.

Heat detectors would be placed every ten miles to scan trains carrying hazardous materials.

The maximum fine the Transportation Dept. can issue to companies that violate safety regulations would increase from $225,000, to one percent of the rail company’s annual operating income.

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