Sen. Bob Casey calling for accountability, safety after East Palestine train derailment

DARLINGTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The images of Feb. 3, 2023, along with the worries, have not dissipated in East Palestine, Ohio and surrounding communities such as Darlington Township, Pennsylvania.

“From about a mile away, we could see a glow in the sky and black smoke billowing up,” said City of Beaver Falls Deputy Fire Chief David Seidl. “It was only afterwards that the thoughts of the unknown hazards that we may have been exposed to began to weight on us.”

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“What I’m mad about is Norfolk Southern has promised this community that there would be dollars available to help families, and they haven’t done that yet,” said Sen. Bob Casey.

Casey also says Norfolk Southern has not endorsed the recently introduced Railroad Safety Act 2023.

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“If you really care about rail safety and you really care about the people of Darlington Township and the people in Ohio,” said Casey. “Support the bill.”

In a statement, Norfolk Southern said: “We’ve been clear of our support for many provisions of the bill.  We’ll continue to work with our regulatory partners and the FRA and NTSB, following the science, to make Norfolk Southern an even safer railroad.”

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The proposed bill includes requiring at least two-person crews, defect detectors plus mandatory reporting of the contents of rail cars. It would also hit railroad companies with heavy fines.

“The safety provisions are significant and the accountability,” said Casey. “The heavier fines on companies is the deterrent.”

Another proposed bill would benefit first responders. The Beaver Falls Fire Department is still down 13 sets of full gear plus other crucial equipment because of the derailment.  The cost to replace this equipment totals more than $180,000.

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“If the replacement of this equipment is not done so quickly, anyone who has an emergency afterwards, they may be the ones who suffer the consequences,” said Seidl.

“If everything else fails, and there is a derailment, you’re going to have the kind of help that these fire companies need and law enforcement needs to reimburse folks to make sure they’re made whole when they’re expending all kinds of money to deal with the horror of a derailment,” said Casey.

Casey says this bill will head to the Commerce Committee in the coming weeks, and he believes, with the current bipartisan support, there’s a high chance the Railroad Safety Act of 2023 will be passed by the end of the year.

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