Rail Safety Bipartisan Action

Background is a photo of railroad tracks taken from a moving train. The text reads "Help us Make America Safer. Tell Congress to take action now for railway safety." From Build the Era

Tell Congress to support and pass the Bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023

Since our last letter campaign, Congress has heard the calls for action on rail safety from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and from organizations like ours. As a result, six US Senators have co-sponsored a bipartisan, rail safety bill titled the Railway Safety Act of 2023.  

The Railway Safety Act addresses the ask of Secretary Pete for Congress to increase the allowable penalties USDOT can impose on rail companies for violations. It raises those penalties to the greater of 0.5% to 1% of operating income or $750,000 to $1.75 million depending on the type of violation. This is a much greater deterrent than the current maximum penalties, which are less than $250,000.

The bill also includes new safety requirements and procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials, requires at least two person, well-trained crews aboard every train, reduces the risk of wheel bearing failure with new requirements for detectors,  strengthens inspection requirements of rail cars carrying hazardous materials, and provides more grant funding for HAZMAT crews and first responders, and funding for USDOT for rail safety research and development.

Due to a divided House and Senate, any bill to pass through Congress this session must do so in a bipartisan manner. The Railway Safety Act of 2023 is an important bill that could actually become law because it has the support of members of both parties and President Biden. However, it has yet to gain broad support, so we must act to let our members of Congress know of our strong support.

Build the Era has created a letter for you that will be sent to your members of Congress telling them to support and pass the Railway Safety Act of 2023.

All you have to do is fill out the information required on this page to generate a letter to your members of Congress. You will even have a chance to personalize it with your thoughts about the importance of rail safety before it is sent.

Together, we can take advantage of the creation of this bill to make our railroads, railroad workers and railway communities safer.

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