U.S. Sec. of Transportation Pete Buttigieg laid out a plan Tuesday calling for additional safety measures on America’s rail lines and to make railroad companies more accountable for their actions following derailments and other disasters. This all follows a train derailment in East Palestine that has affected the lives of an entire community.
According to the secretary, 2025 was the department’s original target date for safer cars until Congress pushed the date back to 2029. “We are calling on Congress to improve rail safety through specific legislation, including by increasing maximum fines the USDOT is allowed to issue against railroads that violate safety regulations,” he said.
“I’m concerned that some rail companies treat fines for safety violations as the cost of doing business, and then the real cost is borne by families and communities when that safety violation leads to tragedy,” he said.
Buttigieg said his office will be working to help the residents of East Palestine following the train derailment.
Accountability, we’ll, except for him.
Buttigieg is a train wreck
Nationalize the Rails