Senator urges passage of bipartisan safety legislation

CLEVELAND — U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown responded immediately to news of another Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio on Saturday.

The derailment is the fourth in recent months in the state, including the Feb. 3 derailment, which released toxic chemical near East Palestine and has generated national coverage on the issue of train safety.

“Sandusky, Steubenville, East Palestine and now Springfield – four Norfolk Southern derailments in less than five months because this corporation has been more concerned with its profit margin than with Ohioans’ safety,” Brown said, calling on passage of bipartisan railroad safety legislation he introduced last week with JD Vance, the state Republican senator. “Ohio communities should not be forced to live in fear of another disaster. It’s unacceptable — it’s why we must pass my bipartisan Railway Safety Act with Sen. Vance, now.” 

The bill will take a number of key steps to improve rail safety protocols, such as enhancing safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials, establishing requirements for wayside defect detectors, creating a permanent requirement for railroads to operate with at least two-person crews, increasing fines for wrongdoing committed by rail carriers and more.