One year after the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment created an environmental disaster, the Biden administration on Tuesday unveiled new regulations intended to shore up freight rail safety.
Drone footage shows the freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, U.S., February 6, 2023 in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released by the NTSB.
Yet the new rule stops short of the kind of rail safety updates that the Biden administration and members of Congress had originally envisioned as a response to the East Palestine disaster.
Making any major updates to rail safety will require congressional funding that has not yet been approved.
The stalling of the Railway Safety Act also underscores the power of the freight rail industry's Washington lobbying shop, the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
Persons:
Pete Buttigieg, Biden, Vince Verna, Buttigieg
Organizations:
Federal Railroad Administration, NTSB, Norfolk Southern, Railway, of Locomotive Engineers, Trainmen, Association of American Railroads, CNBC, CSX, Union Pacific, AAR, ARA, Transportation Department
Locations:
States, United States, Palestine , Ohio, East Palestine , Ohio, U.S, East Palestine, Norfolk, Palestine, Ohio, Washington