Earlier this week, a bipartisan U.S. Senate Group rolled out legislation focused on railway safety.

Entitled the Railway Safety Act of 2026, the legislation was introduced by Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).

This legislation was initially introduced into the Senate in 2023, with a major impetus for it being due to the February 3, 2023 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train, transporting hazardous materials, on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.  

As previously reported, the National Safety Transportation Board (NTSB) said in a February 14, 2023 update that as a result of the derailment, 38 rail cars derailed and a fire ensued which damaged an additional 12 cars, adding that there were 20 total hazardous material cars in the train—11 of which derailed. And on February 23, in its preliminary report, it said that surveillance video from a local residence showed what appeared to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment. It added that the wheel bearing and affected wheelset were collected as evidence to be examined by the NTSB. 

“The Railway Safety Act will make communities across the country safer,” said Sen. Cantwell. “It has been over three years since the Norfolk Southern derailment disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, and it is past time for Congress to act. Our bill requires railroads to deploy technology that could have prevented the East Palestine derailment, holds large railroad companies accountable through stiffer fines and ensures that trains carrying hazardous materials are held to a higher safety standard.”