Enhanced Rail Safety: Mandatory Crews, Higher Penalties, and Better Inspections.
This Act introduces strict new safety requirements for trains carrying hazardous materials, including mandatory two-person crews for most freight operations. It significantly increases public safety along rail lines and ensures local emergency responders receive better training and advance information about dangerous cargo. Railroad companies will face drastically higher financial penalties for safety violations.
Key points
Mandatory two-person crews (engineer and conductor) for most freight trains to enhance operational safety.
Drastic increase in civil penalties for railroads violating safety rules, potentially reaching 1% of annual operating income.
Requirement for Class I railroads to install defect detectors (like hotbox detectors) every 10 miles on tracks used by hazardous material trains.
Phase-out of older, less safe DOT-111 tank cars for transporting flammable liquids by May 2030.
New funding for local first responder training on hazardous materials, paid for by major rail carriers.
Introduced
Citizen Poll