DeWine testifies in Senate rail safety committee hearing
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation met Wednesday to discuss ways to improve rail safety in the United States, with the committee hearing testimony from residents of East Palestine, a safety expert from the National Transportation Safety Board, and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
The hearing consisted mainly of two points: what can be done to stop derailments like the one in East Palestine and, more broadly, what can be done to improve the safety of trains.
Ohio’s senators J.D. Vance and Sherrod Brown both expressed disappointment with Norfolk Southern’s perceived lack of action regarding safety before the Ohio crash and continued to tout their bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023, which calls for more safety procedures and higher fines for wrongdoings by railway owners.
During his testimony, DeWine revealed that the health clinic in East Palestine that was started after the train derailment would become a permanent, full-service clinic for the community. He also continued to urge that Norfolk Southern continue to work to restore the community of East Palestine.
“The people of East Palestine have told me they want their community back,” he said. “They want things to go back to the way they were before the train wreck. Members of the committee, Norfolk Southern has an obligation to restore this community. It was their train, their tracks, their accident. They are responsible for this tragedy.”
In addition to hearing from Ohio’s governor and senators, the committee also heard from the CEO of Norfolk Southern, Alan Shaw.
Shaw said that he agreed with “portions” of the Vance-Brown legislation including maintenance standards and alert thresholds for safety sensors. He said the company was adding additional heat-detecting sensors to their tracks.