The Railway Safety Act of 2023 was introduced by U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; J.D. Vance, R-Ohio; Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania; and John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania; along with Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, following the devastating train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
The legislation includes provisions to support firefighters who bravely respond to disasters like the East Palestine derailment. It also reforms the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) programs to ensure fire departments can purchase personal protective gear and creates a new program to make fire departments whole after responding to a derailment.
The legislation, in part, mandates that railroads use defect detectors. Railroads will be required to submit plans to the Federal Railroad Administration proving that they will deploy the defect detectors that meet standards set by DOT.
