Federal

Railway Safety Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 21,464 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill makes trains carrying hazardous materials (dangerous goods like flammable liquids and toxic chemicals) safer by requiring railroads to have better inspection procedures, safety equipment, and crew staffing. It also requires railroads to notify emergency responders when hazardous materials pass through their areas and increases penalties for safety violations. ##

Who It Affects

- Railroad companies (especially large Class I railroads) - Train crew members (engineers and conductors) - Shippers (companies that transport goods by train) - State and tribal emergency response officials - First responders (firefighters, police, emergency medical personnel) - Communities near railroad tracks - Passengers on commuter rail systems ##

Key Provisions

- The Secretary of Transportation must create new safety rules within 1 year for trains carrying hazardous materials that are not already covered by high-hazard flammable train rules, including requirements for notifying emergency responders and reducing blocked railroad crossings. (Sec. 3) - Railroads must have inspectors spend adequate time inspecting rail cars and locomotives, and the Secretary must audit railroad inspection programs at least once every 5 years for large railroads. (Sec. 4 and Sec. 105) - Large railroads must install wayside defect detectors (devices that detect equipment problems) approximately every 10 miles to catch problems like wheel bearing failures before they cause derailments. (Sec. 5 and Sec. 107) - Freight trains must have a crew of at least 2 people (one conductor and one locomotive engineer) on main train lines, except for small operations, assistance trains, or trains without cars attached. Trains carrying toxic materials, flammable liquids, or trains 7,500 feet or longer cannot use exceptions to this rule. (Sec. 6 and Sec. 108) - Civil penalties (fines) for violating rail safety rules increase significantly, with maximum penalties reaching $5,000,000 for violations that cause death, serious illness, or severe injury. (Sec. 7 and Sec. 109) - Tank cars carrying flammable liquids must meet newer, safer DOT-117 standards starting May 1, 2025. (Sec. 8) - Large railroads must provide electronic train information (what hazardous materials are on board, where the train is going) to emergency response centers so first responders know what they're dealing with in an accident. (Sec. 102) - Railroads must establish toll-free phone lines for the public to report blocked railroad crossings. (Sec. 104) - The Secretary must study the 20 most frequently blocked railroad crossings and recommend solutions. (Sec. 104) ##

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, railroads will need to: - Follow stricter safety inspection rules with specific time requirements - Install more equipment to detect problems on tracks - Maintain larger train crews on main routes carrying hazardous materials - Share real-time information about hazardous cargo with emergency responders - Use safer tank cars for transporting flammable liquids - Pay much higher fines if they violate safety rules - Create public reporting systems for blocked crossings - Submit detailed plans for detecting equipment defects - Provide hazardous materials training to first responders through fees collected from large railroads ##

Important Definitions

**High-hazard train**: A single train carrying 20 or more loaded tank cars with flammable liquid, or 1 tank car with toxic-by-inhalation material, or 1 car with radioactive waste, or 10 or more cars with explosives, or 5 or more tank cars with flammable gas, or 20 or more cars with any combination of these. (Sec. 102) **Class I railroad**: A large railroad with significant freight operations (defined in federal transportation law). **Class II or III railroad**: Smaller railroads with fewer operations than Class I railroads. **Wayside defect detector**: A device placed along railroad tracks that detects problems like overheated wheel bearings, brake failures, or wheel damage. **Main line track**: Railroad segments where at least 5 million gross tons of freight moves annually and trains travel faster than 25 miles per hour, or routes where passenger trains carrying hazardous materials operate. **Hazardous materials**: Substances the Secretary of Transportation designates as dangerous, including flammable liquids, toxic gases, explosives, and radioactive materials. **Specification tank cars**: Railroad cars built to specific safety standards for carrying hazardous liquids. ##

Effective Date

Not specified uniformly in bill text. Different provisions take effect at different times: - Most rulemaking must occur within 1 year of the bill becoming law - Tank car phase-out begins May 1, 2025 - Blocked crossing phone lines must be established within 180 days - Some audits must begin within 60 days

II Calendar No. 284 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 576 To enhance safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 1, 2023 Mr. BROWN (for himself, Mr. VANCE, Mr. CASEY, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. FETTERMAN, Mr. HAWLEY, Ms. SMITH, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. ROMNEY, Mr. MARSHALL, and Ms. BALDWIN) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Com- merce, Science, and Transportation DECEMBER 13, 2023 Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To enhance safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Railway Safety Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 576 RS (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Defined term. Sec. 3. Safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials. Sec. 4. Rail car inspections. Sec. 5. Defect detectors. Sec. 6. Safe Freight Act of 2023. Sec. 7. Increasing maximum civil penalties for violations of rail safety regula- tions. Sec. 8. Safer tank cars. Sec. 9. Hazardous materials training for first responders. Sec. 10. Rail safety infrastructure research and development grants. Sec. 11. Appropriations for tank car research and development. SEC. 2. DEFINED TERM. 3 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec- 4 retary of Transportation. 5 SEC. 3. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR TRAINS TRANS- 6 PORTING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS. 7 (a) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 8 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 9 regulations, or modify existing regulations, establishing 10 safety requirements, in accordance with subsection (b), 11 with which a shipper or rail carrier operating a train 12 transporting hazardous materials that is not subject to the 13 requirements for a high-hazard flammable train under sec- 14 tion 174.310 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, 15 shall comply with respect to the operation of each such 16 train and the maintenance of specification tank cars. 17 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations issued pursu- 18 ant to subsection (a) shall require shippers and rail car- 19 riers— 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 576 RS (1) to provide advance notification and informa- 1 tion regarding the transportation of hazardous mate- 2 rials described in subsection (a) to each State emer- 3 gency response commissioner, the tribal emergency 4 response commission, or any other State or tribal 5 agency responsible for receiving the information no- 6 tification for emergency response planning informa- 7 tion; 8 (2) to include, in the notification provided pur- 9 suant to paragraph (1), a written gas discharge plan 10 with respect to the applicable hazardous materials 11 being transported; and 12 (3) to reduce or eliminate blocked crossings re- 13 sulting from delays in train movements. 14 (c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the 15 regulations required under subsection (a), the Secretary 16 shall include requirements regarding— 17 (1) train length and weight; 18 (2) train consist; 19 (3) route analysis and selection; 20 (4) speed restrictions; 21 (5) track standards; 22 (6) track, bridge, and rail car maintenance; 23 (7) signaling and train control; 24 (8) response plans; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 576 RS (9) any other requirements that the Secretary 1 determines are necessary. 2 (d) HIGH-HAZARD FLAMMABLE TRAINS.—The Sec- 3 retary may modify the safety requirements for trains sub- 4 ject to section 174.310 of title 49, Code of Federal Regu- 5 lations, to satisfy, in whole or in part, the rulemaking re- 6 quired under subsection (a). 7 SEC. 4. RAIL CAR INSPECTIONS. 8 (a) RULEMAKING.— 9 (1) INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 10 than 1 year after date of the enactment of this Act, 11 the Secretary shall review and update, as necessary, 12 applicable regulations under chapters I and II of 13 subtitle B of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations— 14 (A) to create minimum time requirements 15 that a qualified mechanical inspector must 16 spend when inspecting a rail car or locomotive; 17 and 18 (B) to ensure that all rail cars and loco- 19 motives in train consists that carry hazardous 20 materials are inspected by a qualified mechan- 21 ical inspector at intervals determined by the 22 Secretary. 23 (2) ABBREVIATED PRE-DEPARTURE INSPEC- 24 TION.—The Secretary shall immediately amend sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 576 RS tion 215.13(c) of title 49, Code of Federal Regula- 1 tions (permitting an abbreviated pre-departure in- 2 spection procedure) with respect to rail cars in train 3 consists carrying hazardous materials. 4 (b) AUDITS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 7 shall initiate audits of Federal rail car inspection 8 programs, subject to the requirements under part 9 215 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, 10 which— 11 (A) consider whether such programs are in 12 compliance with such part 215; 13 (B) assess the type and content of training 14 and performance metrics that such programs 15 provide rail car inspectors; 16 (C) determine whether such programs pro- 17 vide inspectors with adequate time to inspect 18 rail cars; 19 (D) determine whether such programs re- 20 flect the current operating practices of the rail- 21 road carrier; and 22 (E) ensure that inspection programs are 23 not overly reliant on train crews. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 576 RS (2) AUDIT SCHEDULING.—The Secretary 1 shall— 2 (A) schedule the audits required under 3 paragraph (1) to ensure that— 4 (i) each Class I railroad is audited not 5 less frequently than once every 5 years; 6 and 7 (ii) a select number, as determined by 8 the Secretary, of Class II and Class III 9 railroads are audited annually; and 10 (B) conduct the audits described in sub- 11 paragraph (A)(ii) in accordance with— 12 (i) the Small Business Regulatory En- 13 forcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 14 601 note); and 15 (ii) appendix C of part 209 of title 49, 16 Code of Federal Regulations. 17 (3) UPDATES TO INSPECTION PROGRAM.—If, 18 during an audit required under this subsection, the 19 auditor identifies a deficiency in a railroad’s inspec- 20 tion program, the railroad shall update the program 21 to eliminate such deficiency. 22 (4) CONSULTATION AND COOPERATION.— 23 (A) CONSULTATION.—In conducting any 24 audit required under this subsection, the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 576 RS retary shall consult with the railroad being au- 1 dited and its employees, including any nonprofit 2 employee labor organization representing the 3 mechanical employees of the railroad. 4 (B) COOPERATION.—The railroad being 5 audited and its employees, including any non- 6 profit employee labor organization representing 7 mechanical employees, shall fully cooperate with 8 any audit conducted pursuant to this sub- 9 section— 10 (i) by providing any relevant docu- 11 ments requested; and 12 (ii) by making available any employees 13 for interview without undue delay or ob- 14 struction. 15 (C) FAILURE TO COOPERATE.—If the Sec- 16 retary determines that a railroad or any of its 17 employees, including any nonprofit employee 18 labor organization representing mechanical em- 19 ployees of the railroad is not fully cooperating 20 with an audit conducted pursuant to this sub- 21 section, the Secretary shall electronically notify 22 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 23 Transportation of the Senate and the Com- 24 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 576 RS the House of Representatives of such non- 1 cooperation. 2 (c) REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall 3 triennially determine whether any update to part 215 of 4 title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, is necessary to en- 5 sure the safety of rail cars transported by rail carriers. 6 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall publish 7 an annual report on the public website of the Federal Rail- 8 road Administration that— 9 (1) summarizes the findings of the prior year’s 10 audits; 11 (2) summarizes any updates made pursuant to 12 this section; and 13 (3) excludes any confidential business informa- 14 tion or sensitive security information. 15 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 16 tion may be construed— 17 (1) to limit the deployment of pilot programs 18 for the installation, test, verification, and review of 19 automated rail and train inspection technologies; or 20 (2) to direct the Secretary to waive any existing 21 inspection requirements under chapter I or II of 22 subtitle B of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, 23 as part of pilot programs. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 576 RS SEC. 5. DEFECT DETECTORS. 1 (a) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 2 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 3 regulations establishing requirements for the installation, 4 repair, testing, maintenance, and operation of wayside de- 5 fect detectors for each rail carrier operating a train consist 6 carrying hazardous materials. 7 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations issued pursu- 8 ant to subsection (a) shall include requirements regard- 9 ing— 10 (1) the frequency of the placement of wayside 11 defect detectors, including a requirement that all 12 Class I railroads install a hotbox detector along 13 every 10-mile segment of rail track over which trains 14 carrying hazardous materials operate; 15 (2) performance standards for such detectors; 16 (3) the maintenance and repair requirements 17 for such detectors; 18 (4) reporting data and maintenance records of 19 such detectors; 20 (5) appropriate steps the rail carrier must take 21 when receiving an alert of a defect or failure from 22 or regarding a wayside defect detector; and 23 (6) the use of hotbox detectors to prevent 24 derailments from wheel bearing failures, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 576 RS (A) the temperatures, to be specified by 1 the Secretary, at which an alert from a hotbox 2 detector is triggered to warn of a potential 3 wheel bearing failure; and 4 (B) any actions that shall be taken by a 5 rail carrier upon receiving an alert from a hot- 6 box detector of a potential wheel bearing fail- 7 ure. 8 (c) DEFECT AND FAILURE IDENTIFICATION.—The 9 Secretary shall specify the categories of defects and fail- 10 ures that wayside defect detectors covered by regulations 11 issued pursuant to subsection (a) shall address, includ- 12 ing— 13 (1) axles; 14 (2) wheel bearings; 15 (3) brakes; 16 (4) signals; 17 (5) wheel impacts; and 18 (6) other defects or failures specified by the 19 Secretary. 20 SEC. 6. SAFE FREIGHT ACT OF 2023. 21 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 22 ‘‘Safe Freight Act of 2023’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 576 RS (b) FREIGHT TRAIN CREW SIZE.—Subchapter II of 1 chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 2 by inserting after section 20153 the following: 3 ‘‘§ 20154. Freight train crew size safety standards 4 ‘‘(a) MINIMUM CREW SIZE.—No freight train may be 5 operated without a 2-person crew consisting of at least 1 6 appropriately qualified and certified conductor and 1 ap- 7 propriately qualified and certified locomotive engineer. 8 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—Except as provided in subsection 9 (c), the requirement under subsection (a) shall not apply 10 with respect to— 11 ‘‘(1) train operations on track that is not a 12 main line track; 13 ‘‘(2) a freight train operated— 14 ‘‘(A) by a railroad carrier that has fewer 15 than 400,000 total employee work hours annu- 16 ally and less than $40,000,000 annual revenue 17 (adjusted for inflation, as calculated by the Sur- 18 face Transportation Board Railroad Inflation- 19 Adjusted Index and Deflator Factor Table); 20 ‘‘(B) at a speed of not more than 25 miles 21 per hour; and 22 ‘‘(C) on a track with an average track 23 grade of less than 2 percent for any segment of 24 track that is at least 2 continuous miles; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 576 RS ‘‘(3) locomotives performing assistance to a 1 train that has incurred mechanical failure or lacks 2 the power to traverse difficult terrain, including 3 traveling to or from the location where assistance is 4 provided; 5 ‘‘(4) locomotives that— 6 ‘‘(A) are not attached to any equipment or 7 are attached only to a caboose; and 8 ‘‘(B) do not travel further than 30 miles 9 from the point of origin of such locomotive; and 10 ‘‘(5) train operations staffed with fewer than a 11 2-person crew at least 1 year before the date of en- 12 actment of this section, if the Secretary determines 13 that such operations achieve an equivalent level of 14 safety as would result from compliance with the re- 15 quirement under subsection (a). 16 ‘‘(c) TRAINS INELIGIBLE FOR EXCEPTION.—The ex- 17 ceptions under subsection (b) may not be applied to— 18 ‘‘(1) a train transporting 1 or more loaded cars 19 carrying material toxic by inhalation (as defined in 20 section 171.8 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula- 21 tions); 22 ‘‘( [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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