Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Wednesday urged the National Transportation Safety Board to broaden its rail safety investigation beyond Norfolk Southern to other large rail companies after last month's derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
In a letter to Jennifer Homendy, chair of the NTSB, Schumer said it was jarringly evident that the industry is in desperate need of a full and comprehensive investigation. He said there was a troubling and fatal combination of factors, including deregulations, more than 26,500 accidents and incidents in the past five years, as well as over 30,000 employee cuts.
I strongly urge you to expand your investigation into the safety practices of all Class I freight railroads operating throughout the country, including BNSF Railway, CSX, Union Pacific, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and Kansas City Southern, and issue findings, recommendations and regulations to improve rail safety across the country, Schumer wrote in a letter first reported by Politico.
Class I railroads are the largest freight railroad companies in the world, measured by operating revenue.
Schumer said, As we have seen firsthand, the freight rail industry has played dangerously fast and loose with the regulations while endangering millions of Americans throughout the country. NTSB has reached out to NBC News for comment on the letter.
The NTSB launched an investigation earlier this month into Norfolk Southern's safety practices and culture after the derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals in East Palestine and other similar accidents.
Hours before Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw appeared at a congressional hearing last week about the Ohio derailment, another of the company s trains were derailed in Calhoun County, Alabama. The Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency said there were no reports of injuries or hazardous leaks.
It was the third derailment of Norfolk Southern since last month.
In his letter, Schumer asked Homendy to look at providing regulations and standards to improve safety, any recent regulatory pushes that could have contributed to derailments across the country, and if the industry ignores its own safety protocols.
The statistics and data on accidents and incidents for Class I railroads can only tell part of the story, he wrote. They tell us how many accidents or incidents have occurred in the past five years — 26,563 — but they don't tell us how many gallons of oil have been spilled or toxic chemicals have been released. He said that they tell us how many grade-crossing accidents there were but not if any occurred because the tracks are severely degraded or poorly designed. They can tell us how many deaths there were -- 2,768 - but not why or if company policies could have prevented them. The Ohio Attorney General s office on Tuesday sued Norfolk Southern in federal court, alleging it was negligent for causing the derailment.