CEO Alan Shaw Supports Legislative Efforts but Stops Short of Fully Endorsing Railway Safety Act. Shaw testified before the Pennsylvania state Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee on March 20, in Harrisburg, Pa., following the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Senators and federal safety regulators pressure CEO Alan Shaw to step up his commitment to safety as he appears before the Senate Commerce Committee on March 22. At a separate hearing earlier this month, he committed to voluntary safety upgrades and apologized for an Ohio derailment.
In prepared remarks released March 21, Shaw said Norfolk Southern would “support legislative efforts to enhance the safety of the freight rail industry” but did not address increased fines for safety violations and designating trains that carry flammable gas as highly hazardous. He does support provisions in the act for railroads to fund training for emergency crews and a review of regulations for rail car inspections every three years.
Shaw says Congress could go further with rail safety legislation, including stricter standards for tank car design and research into technology that would detect problems with rail cars. No one was injured in the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Still, state and local officials released and burned toxic vinyl chloride from five tanker cars, prompting the evacuation of half the village.
Attention has turned to railroad safety and how dangerous materials are transported. The Senate Commerce Committee will hear from the NTSB, the organization representing railroads, an East Palestine resident, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, and Ohio Sens. JD Vance and Sherrod Brown.
NTSB Chair Homendy says rail is one of the safest means of transportation, but there are areas for improvement in current regulations. Sen. Vance (Commerce Committee) has circulated a memo to his fellow Republicans to focus the hearing on new safety regulations, including questioning Shaw on fines for safety violations.
Vance suggests harsher penalties for railroad companies that poison communities in the memo. Republican Reps, Bill Johnson (East Palestine district) and Democrat Emilia Strong Sykes (OH) have introduced a railroad safety bill.
Source
https://www.ttnews.com/articles/norfolk-southern-safety-regs
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