This week the Congressional Research Service published a report on “East Palestine, OH, Train Derailment and Hazardous Materials Shipment by Rail: Frequently Asked Questions”. This report “focuses on the federal safety standards, voluntary industry guidelines, railroad operating practices that may be considered in understanding how and why this derailment occurred, and how to prevent similar derailments in the future. It also provides a brief summary of past legislative responses to railroad safety issues.”
This report briefly answers the following questions:
• What caused the East Palestine
derailment?
• What federal requirements apply
to rail shipments of hazardous materials?
• Why was the derailed train not
regulated as a High-Hazard Flammable Train?
• What safety measures does the
industry recommend for Key Trains?
• What are Electronically
Controlled Pneumatic Brakes?
• Could the derailment be related
to Precision Scheduled Railroading?
• What actions can Congress and the Department of Transportation take in response to the derailment?
Recalling that the purpose of the CRS is to provide members
of Congress with information needed to inform the legislative process, the last
section of the report is probably the most important.
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