East Palestine
Opinion: Recognizing progress and opportunities for our railroads during Rail Safety Week
By Jeff Buddle The writer is president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Maryland. Every three hours in the United States a person or vehicle is hit by a train, and 60% of collisions occur at crossings that are equipped with lights and/or gates. More than 2,100 people across North America are injured or killed […]
Ohio Senate committee on rail safety releases recommendations
The Ohio Senate’s Select Committee on Rail Safety unveiled its final report Wednesday morning. The Senate set up the panel in the wake of the East Palestine derailment in February of this year. The report offers a limited a set of recommendations — in no small part because federal authorities take precedence on regulating rail […]
86% of Ohio’s large rivers met water quality standards, new study shows
Most of Ohio’s rivers met water quality standards, except for a stretch of the Mohican River, according to a new study from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Eighty-six percent or 1,176 miles of Ohio’s large rivers were determined to be in excellent condition and another 190 miles of Ohio’s large rivers are partially meeting water […]
Bipartisan rail safety bill headed for U.S. Senate vote
It’s been just over three months since a Norfolk Southern train derailed near East Palestine, Ohio. Federal legislation meant to improve rail safety and reduce similar incidents is advancing in the U.S. Senate. The Railway Safety Act of 2023 is a bipartisan effort led by Ohio’s U.S. Senators, Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Sherrod Brown. […]
Norfolk Southern CEO appears before Ohio Senate Rail Committee
The president and CEO of the train company spotlighted in the East Palestine train disaster appeared by the Ohio Senate Select Committee on Rail Safety to explain his company’s role in the mess, and in cleaning it up. “We are a safe railroad,” said president and CEO Alan Shaw. “Norfolk Southern is a safe railroad.” […]
‘I’m mad as hell;’ Ohio AG Yost sues scam charity that pocketed donations meant for East Palestine residents
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is suing a scam charity that claimed to be collecting thousands of dollars of donations for East Palestine residents after the Norfolk Southern train derailment on Feb. 3 spilled toxic chemicals, including vinyl chloride. The lawsuit, filed Monday, alleges Ohio Clean Water Fund was acting on behalf of Second Harvest […]
The true dangers of long trains
By Dan Schwartz and Topher Sanders, ProPublica, with additional reporting by Gabriel Sandoval and Danelle Morton, graphics by Haisam Hussein This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Just before 5 a.m., Harry […]
Priorities for rail safety bill debated in U.S. Senate hearing with Norfolk Southern CEO
Members of a U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday previewed what they would push for in bipartisan rail safety legislation likely to progress through Congress in the aftermath of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment. Democrats and Republicans on the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hinted they wanted to strengthen requirements about reporting hazardous cargo, […]
Ohioans in the U.S. House and Senate have introduced rail safety bills, how do they differ?
Ohio’s congressional delegation was quick to promise legislative action in the wake of the East Palestine train derailment. Now, lawmakers have introduced bipartisan measures in both chambers of Congress. In a moment of divided government and fever-pitch partisanship, it’s notable lawmakers from both parties came together to propose substantive policy changes. However, proponents could still […]
U.S. Senate leader calls for safety audit into all major railroads after Ohio derailment
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called Wednesday for the federal authority responsible for determining the causes of transportation casualties to investigate the safety culture at all major North American freight railroads. Following the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment that caused a toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, Schumer, a New York Democrat, said […]
Ohio Attorney General Yost sues Norfolk Southern over East Palestine train derailment
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a 58-count civil lawsuit in federal court Tuesday seeking to hold Norfolk Southern financially responsible for the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine that caused the release of over 1 million gallons of hazardous chemicals, “recklessly endangering” both the health of area residents and Ohio’s natural resources, a news […]
Norfolk Southern CEO apologizes for Ohio crash, but won’t back bipartisan rail safety bill
The CEO of Norfolk Southern, the railroad operating the train that last month derailed and spilled toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, apologized for the derailment at a U.S. Senate hearing Thursday, but declined solicitations to endorse a bipartisan rail safety bill. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw opened his testimony to the Senate Environment and […]