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Category: railroads

  • Locomotive Builders Forge Green Rail Project

    Union workers who make diesel locomotives at a plant in Pennsylvania are pushing ahead with their campaign to manufacture more green-powered locomotives.

    The workers aim to clean up diesel railroad pollution while also revitalizing their locomotive engine manufacturing plant in Erie. But they’re facing roadblocks, and the recent federal chaos has added to the uncertainty. In the meantime, workers are making direct changes to clean up their jobsite.

    The Wabtec plant, formerly General Electric, makes diesel locomotives for both freight and passenger trains. The company began researching all-electric and hybrid diesel-electric locomotives several years ago, and more recently began exploring hydrogen power.

    The post Locomotive Builders Forge Green Rail Project appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • As US Threatens To Privatize Amtrak, UK Begins To Renationalize Rail

    While the Trump Administration and billionaire advisor Elon Musk are talking about privatizing passenger rail here in the USA, in the UK, they’re going in the opposite direction. Next month, on May 25, the British will begin nationalizing passenger rail after decades of failed privatization, which began in 1994 (see write-up from the British House of Commons). Amtrak referenced the UK’s experiment with privatization in a March 2025 analysis explaining why privatization is a bad idea (see Amtrak FAQ here).

    On this side of the Atlantic, Amtrak had its best year ever for ridership and revenue. Some of its ridership growth is due to an increasing number of long-haul commuters, especially commuters from Philadelphia to New York City.

    The post As US Threatens To Privatize Amtrak, UK Begins To Renationalize Rail appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Amtrak Doesn’t Understand Why Elon Musk Wants To Privatize Amtrak

    Elon Musk has eagerly positioned himself as a chainsaw-welding horror movie slasher with government agencies as his victims, instead of promiscuous high schoolers. The Tesla CEO set his sights on privatizing the USPS and Amtrak, but the federally-owned railroad released a response last week stating that it can’t understand why it needs private ownership. Amtrak has turned a lemon from the 1960s into a decent lemonade by the 21st century.

    Musk spoke at a Morgan Stanley technology conference last week and advised travelers visiting the country to stay away from Amtrak.

    The post Amtrak Doesn’t Understand Why Elon Musk Wants To Privatize Amtrak appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Federal Personnel Cuts Could Further Delay Languishing Rail Initiatives

    Disbursement of funds from grants awarded under a variety of Federal Railroad Administration continue to be held up by a lengthy approval process involving FRA personnel. These investments are threatened by potential staff reductions at the agency, as well as possible vetos by overseers invoking new Trump administration ideological criteria.

    Concerned about such a prospect, the Rail Passengers Association and 22 other public transportation advocacy organizations on Friday, Feb. 28, sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, urging him to “preserve mission-critical personnel to avoid further delays in the administration of these passenger and freight projects.”

    The post Federal Personnel Cuts Could Further Delay Languishing Rail Initiatives appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Court Strikes Down Federal Rule That Would Have Allowed ‘Bomb Trains’

    A federal court today struck down a 2020 rule that would have allowed trains to travel the country filled with an unprecedented amount of explosive liquefied natural gas (LNG).

    The liquefied natural gas from just one rail tank car — without even considering a whole train — could be enough to destroy a city.

    “We’re pleased that the court saw the danger this rule posed to our nation’s communities,” said Earthjustice attorney Bradley Marshall. “As we pointed out, it would only take 22 tank cars to hold the equivalent energy of the Hiroshima bomb.”

    The federal effort to cut critical safeguards for liquefied natural gas started on April 10, 2019, when President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to initiate rulemaking to allow liquefied natural gas transport by rail.

    The post Court Strikes Down Federal Rule That Would Have Allowed ‘Bomb Trains’ appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Teamsters: Government Should Stay Out Of The Bargaining Process

    Toronto – Teamsters Canada union leaders are urging federal officials in Ottawa to stay out of the collective bargaining process and back railway workers’ right to strike.

    “The transportation industry’s most powerful chief executives have developed a way to sidestep union negotiations,” Francois Laporte, national president of Teamsters Canada, and Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, wrote in an op-ed in Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper this week. “Here’s their playbook, as we see it: Make unreasonable demands, accuse unions of being unreasonable for refusing to accept them, instigate job action, lock workers out to disrupt supply chains, and use the resulting outcry to press Ottawa to impose binding arbitration. We believe this to be bad faith bargaining.

    The post Teamsters: Government Should Stay Out Of The Bargaining Process appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Railroads And Unions Divide And Scramble

    As the Trump administration prepares to take power, the nation’s freight railroad companies are at the bargaining table with rail craft unions representing 115,000 freight workers who move essential goods across the country.

    Already the bargaining looks very different from the last round of negotiations, which finished in 2022. For the first time since 1963, multiple railroads have gone rogue, breaking with the employer association in which they typically present a united front.

    Under the Railway Labor Act, the Trump administration can affect both bargaining and the federal rules under which the railroads operate.

    The post Railroads And Unions Divide And Scramble appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • This Rural Black Community Is at War With a Private Railroad Company

    SPARTA, Ga. — On a muggy and humid afternoon in mid-September, a frustrated Mark Smith stands in the kitchen of the home he and his wife, Janet Smith, built over 30 years ago on the 600 acres his grandfather acquired in 1926. Just a few feet away, the home where Mark grew up still stands. It’s the place where he recalls countless conversations his parents had about the importance of education.

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Norfolk Southern’s Reforms Halt Kids’ Risky Train Commutes

    Since the school year began this month, there have been no reports of what was once a common sight in Hammond, Indiana: children, climbing over or under idling trains, risking their lives to get to class. Local officials say this is thanks to reforms enacted in response to an investigation by ProPublica and InvestigateTV. Norfolk Southern, whose trains routinely stretched across multiple…

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  • Ohio Voters Will Decide Whether Norfolk Southern Can Buy Publicly Owned Railroad

    The company responsible for the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, is on the verge of buying up the only municipally owned interstate railroad in the United States. One remaining barrier to Norfolk Southern’s $1.6 billion purchase of the Cincinnati Southern Railway (CSR) is the Ohio city’s voters, who will have an opportunity to reject the proposed sale on the November 7 ballot.

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Montana Derailment Raises Safety Concerns for Proposed Railway on Colorado River

    A freight train derailment and the collapse of a bridge over the Yellowstone River in Montana on Saturday raised alarm as several cars carrying asphalt and molten sulfur tumbled into the river, prompting officials to take emergency measures at nearby water plants. The incident also brought to mind for some critics the Biden administration’s plan to move forward with a railway project along the…

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Biden DOJ Sues Norfolk Southern for ‘Unlawfully Polluting the Nation’s Waterways’



    The Biden administration on Friday took its latest step to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for the disaster continuing to unfold in East Palestine, Ohio and the surrounding area, filing a lawsuit against the rail company for sending toxic chemicals into the environment.

    The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sued the company under the Clean Air Act, accusing it of “unlawfully polluting the nation’s waterways” and calling on Norfolk Southern “to ensure it pays the full cost of the environmental cleanup.”

    “When a Norfolk Southern train derailed last month in East Palestine, Ohio, it released toxins into the air, soil, and water, endangering the health and safety of people in surrounding communities,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “With this complaint, the Justice Department and the [Environmental Protection Agency] are acting to pursue justice for the residents of East Palestine and ensure that Norfolk Southern carries the financial burden for the harm it has caused and continues to inflict on the community.”

    The lawsuit comes almost two months after a train carrying chemicals including vinyl chloride derailed in East Palestine, spilling chemicals into local waterways and ultimately the Ohio River, which provides drinking water for more than five million people.

    “Whatever it takes to make East Palestine whole, Norfolk Southern needs to pay—and it’s not enough to take their word for it.”

    Officials began a controlled release of vinyl chloride to prevent an explosion, a process that sent chemicals including hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the environment. Those chemicals have been known to cause symptoms including headaches, vomiting, and rashes. Earlier this month, data showed that local levels of dioxin, a carcinogen, were hundreds of times higher than the threshold for cancer risk, according to federal scientists.

    Norfolk Southern has removed nine million gallons of contaminated wastewater from the site and hauled it to storage sites in states including Texas and Michigan. Earlier this week, officials in Baltimore blocked a shipment of wastewater to a treatment plant there, with one city council member noting that “too often cities with high rates of concentrated poverty and environmental degradation are asked to shoulder the burden for corporate malfeasance.”

    Government officials say toxic levels of contamination have not been detected in the air or water in East Palestine, but a poll by federal, state, and local authorities earlier this month found that 74% of town residents had experienced headaches following the derailment and controlled release, and 52% had experienced rashes or other skin issues.

    On Friday, CNN reported that investigators with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) experienced symptoms including sore throat, headache, coughing, and nausea while they were in East Palestine assessing public health risks.

    By filing its lawsuit, said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, the Biden administration is “demanding accountability from Norfolk Southern for the harm this event has caused.”

    “We will tirelessly pursue justice for the people living in and near East Palestine, who like all Americans deserve clean air, clean water, and a safe community for their children,” said Kim.

    In February, the EPA ordered Norfolk Southern to take full responsibility for the cleanup work, issuing a legally binding directive. It also demanded that the company attend all public meetings regarding the disaster, after officials refused to meet with residents following the crash.

    Ohio filed a lawsuit against the company earlier this month, demanding that it pay for soil and water monitoring in the coming years as well as paying environmental damage and cleanup costs.

    U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)—a key sponsor of multiple recent railway safety bills—applauded the Biden administration for “following Ohio’s lead and holding Norfolk Southern accountable to the full extent of the law.”

    The latest lawsuit against Norfolk Southern “should further serve as a wake-up call” to the rail industry, said Robert Guy, Illinois state director for the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division.

    Norfolk Southern and other rail companies have long lobbied for lax regulations and pushed workers to abide by a strict scheduling system that rail unions say places profits over safety.

    This post was originally published on Common Dreams.

  • Rail Workers Warn Safety Bill Loopholes Are Big Enough to ‘Run a Freight Train Through’



    Amid heightened national focus on railway safety in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio disaster and other recent accidents, one railroad workers’ union warned Friday that, while welcome, a bipartisan rail safety bill has “loopholes big enough to operate a 7,000-foot train through.”

    The Railway Safety Act of 2023—introduced earlier this week by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)—is meant to “prevent future train disasters like the derailment that devastated East Palestine.”

    The legislation would impose limits on freight train lengths—which in some cases currently exceed three miles. The measure was introduced a day after Democratic U.S. Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) put forth a bill that would require the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to impose stricter regulations on trains carrying hazardous materials.

    “We welcome greater federal oversight and a crackdown on railroads that seem all too willing to trade safety for higher profits,” Eddie Hall, national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), said in a statement.

    While BLET appreciates that Brown’s bill includes language stipulating that “no freight train may be operated without a two-person crew consisting of at least one appropriately qualified and certified conductor and one appropriately qualified and certified locomotive engineer,” the union warned of “significant” exceptions in the proposal. For example, the bill as currently written would only apply to operations on long-distance freight trains.

    BLET said it “will seek changes to the wording of the two-person crew language to tighten the loopholes.”

    “If the language is not precise, the Class 1 railroads will avoid the scope of the law without violating the law, yet again putting the safety of our members and American communities into harm’s way,” Hall argued. “You can run a freight train through the loopholes.”

    In 2015, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration finalized a rule requiring the installation of electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) braking systems on trains carrying hazardous materials.

    Corporate lobbyists subsequently pressed the Obama administration to water down the rule, which was repealed entirely during the Trump administration’s regulatory rollback spree.

    Current U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has not made reinstating the ECP rule a priority. Instead, DOT regulators are considering a proposal backed by the Association of American Railroads, an industry lobby group, that would reduce brake testing. Five major rail unions including BLET strongly oppose the proposal.

    This post was originally published on Common Dreams.

  • Khanna, Deluzio Unveil ‘Derail Act’ to Prevent Another Disaster Like East Palestine



    Democratic Reps. Ro Khanna of California and Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania introduced legislation Tuesday that would require the U.S. Transportation Department to impose more strict regulations on trains carrying hazardous materials, an effort to prevent disasters like the toxic derailment in East Palestine, Ohio from happening in the future.

    “The people in East Palestine and western Pennsylvania are the working-class folks who feel invisible and abandoned by our nation,” Khanna said in a statement. “This is a moment where we need political leaders from all parties and from across the country to speak out loudly for better safety regulations and to acknowledge what so many Americans are going through.”

    If passed, the Decreasing Emergency Railroad Accident Instances Locally (DERAIL) Act would direct the head of the Department of Transportation to “modify the definition of ‘high-hazard flammable train’ to mean a single train transporting one or more loaded tank cars of a Class 3 flammable liquid or a Class 2 flammable gas and other materials the secretary determines necessary for safety.”

    Thanks in part to aggressive industry lobbying, the Transportation Department currently defines a high-hazard flammable train as one carrying hazardous materials in at least 20 consecutive cars or 35 total, limiting the number of trains subject to more stringent safety rules.

    Deluzio, who represents constituents located just miles from the East Palestine derailment, said in a statement that many people are “worried about their health and livelihoods and whether their air, water, and soil will be safe” after the East Palestine wreck.

    “Following this derailment, many of them are worried about their health and livelihoods and whether their air, water, and soil will be safe after this disaster,” Deluzio added. “They want answers, accountability, and assurance that something like this will never happen again. For too long, railroads have prioritized profit ahead of public safety and their workers, and it is time to regulate the railroads. This legislation is an important step forward to finally strengthen our rail regulations and improve rail safety in communities like Western Pennsylvania and across America.”

    As The Lever has reported, the Norfolk Southern train that derailed in eastern Ohio and spilled toxic chemicals—including the flammable carcinogen vinyl chloride—was not being regulated as a “high-hazard flammable train” (HHFT) due to a narrow definition of the category adopted by the Obama administration.

    “The Obama administration in 2014 proposed improving safety regulations for trains carrying petroleum and other hazardous materials,” The Lever noted earlier this month. “However, after industry pressure, the final measure ended up narrowly focused on the transport of crude oil and exempting trains carrying many other combustible materials.”

    “Then came 2017,” The Lever continued. “After rail industry donors delivered more than $6 million to GOP campaigns, the Trump administration—backed by rail lobbyists and Senate Republicans—rescinded part of that rule aimed at making better braking systems widespread on the nation’s rails.”

    In addition to requiring tougher regulation of trains carrying hazardous substances, Khanna and Deluzio’s bill would require rail carriers involved in any potentially toxic derailment to provide the National Response Center, state and local officials, and tribal governments with a list of dangerous materials present on the train no later than 24 hours after the crash.

    The House Democrats’ legislation comes as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is facing growing pressure to strengthen lax regulations that are allowing railroad giants like Norfolk Southern to cut corners in pursuit of greater profits—often with dangerous consequences.

    More than 1,000 trains derail in the United States each year, according to one estimate. A recent USA Today analysis found that hazardous material violations by rail companies “appear to be climbing,” with federal inspectors flagging 36% more infractions over the last five years than they did in the preceding half-decade.

    The Norfolk Southern train that crashed in eastern Ohio had a reputation among workers as a serious safety hazard. The train, formally known as 32N but nicknamed “32 Nasty,” included around 20 cars carrying hazardous chemicals.

    Greg Hynes, the national legislative director of SMART Transportation Division—the union that represents the workers who staffed the derailed Norfolk Southern train—said Tuesday that Khanna and Deluzio’s proposal represents “positive action to improve rail safety for Pennsylvania and America.”

    PennEnvironment executive director David Masur agreed, saying the measure would “take commonsense and important steps to improve reporting and the public’s right to know about volatile and hazardous materials rumbling through U.S. communities every day.”

    “As the derailment and explosion in East Palestine, Ohio showed us,” Masur said, “federal laws excluding freight companies from reporting the dangerous and explosive materials that they are carrying have loopholes large enough to drive a train through.”

    This post was originally published on Common Dreams.

  • To Prevent More ‘Catastrophic Derailments,’ Rail Workers Outline Plan for Immediate Reforms



    Three weeks after the lives of East Palestine, Ohio residents were upended by a fiery wreck involving a Norfolk Southern-owned train overloaded with hazardous materials, rail union leaders on Friday implored federal regulators and lawmakers to “focus on the primary reasons for the derailment and take immediate action to prevent future disasters.”

    In a statement, Railroad Workers United (RWU) pointed to the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) newly published preliminary report on the February 3 crash and subsequent burnoff of vinyl chloride and other carcinogenic chemicals, which suggests that an overheated wheel bearing likely caused the train to derail. The inter-union alliance of rail workers also cited NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy, who said Thursday at a press conference: “This was 100% preventable. We call things accidents—there is no accident. Every single event that we investigate is preventable.”

    RWU, which has previously highlighted how industry-led deregulation and Wall Street-backed policies such as “precision-scheduled railroading” have made the U.S. rail system more dangerous, said Friday that “Class 1 freight rail carriers, including Norfolk Southern, have prioritized profits over safety, cutting maintenance, equipment inspections, and personnel in all crafts while increasing the average train size to three miles or more.”

    In the words of RWU co-chair Gabe Christenson: “Railroad workers experience firsthand every day the dangers inherent in this style of railroading. It has impacted their safety and health, state of mind, and lives on and off the job.”

    “Limits on train lengths and weights are necessary to prevent catastrophic derailments.”

    Jason Doering, general secretary of RWU, echoed Christenson’s message, saying: “Every day we go to work, we have serious concerns about preventing accidents like the one that occurred in Ohio. As locomotive engineers, conductors, signal maintainers, car inspectors, track workers, dispatchers, machinists, and electricians, we experience the reality that our jobs are becoming increasingly dangerous due to insufficient staffing, inadequate maintenance, and a lack of oversight and inspection.”

    “We recognize,” Doering added, “that limits on train lengths and weights are necessary to prevent catastrophic derailments.”

    One week ago, RWU made the case for nationalization, arguing that the U.S. “can no longer afford private ownership of the railroads; the general welfare demands that they be brought under public ownership.”

    In the absence of such sweeping transformation, which remains far-off given the current state of the beleaguered U.S. labor movement, the alliance on Friday demanded that federal agencies and Congress move quickly to “rein in” Norfolk Southern and other profit-maximizing rail corporations that have fought regulations, laid off workers, and purchased billions of dollars in stock rather than investing in employees and safety upgrades.

    Specifically, RWU called on regulators and lawmakers to:

    • Ensure sufficient staffing to do the job properly, efficiently, and safely, with all trains operating with a minimum of a two-person crew;
    • Cap train length and weight at a reasonable level to mitigate the increased likelihood of breakdowns, train separations, and derailments;
    • Implement adequate and proper maintenance and inspections of locomotives and rail cars, tracks and signals, wayside detectors, and other infrastructure; and
    • Standardize ample training and time off without the harassment of draconian attendance policies.

    Of these measures, only a proposed rule to require two-person crews—described by RWU as loophole-ridden—was included in the blueprint the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) unveiled Tuesday to hold rail companies accountable and protect the well-being of workers and fenceline communities.

    The DOT also encouraged rail carriers to voluntarily provide sick leave. Norfolk Southern—facing intense scrutiny and backlash amid the ongoing East Palestine disaster—agreed Wednesday to provide up to a week of paid sick leave per year to roughly 3,000 track maintenance workers.

    But because the Biden administration and Congress recently imposed a contract without paid sick leave on rail workers who were threatening to strike, the vast majority still lack this basic lifesaving benefit, as do millions of private sector workers in other industries who are also awaiting legislation to address the issue.

    Characterizing the DOT’s plan as inadequate, RWU said Tuesday that “rank-and-file railroad workers can diagnose and fix the problems” and urged U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to enact “some of our solutions.”

    RWU treasurer Hugh Sawyer reiterated that call on Friday.

    “We demand that the railroad be run safely, efficiently, and professionally, and not as some ‘cash cow’ for Wall Street investors and billionaires,” said Sawyer. “Much of what is wrong with the rail industry today can be fixed easily and quickly by acting on what is outlined above. We demand action NOW.”

    This post was originally published on Common Dreams.

  • As Trump Visits East Palestine, Critics Say ‘He Should Be Apologizing’ for Safety Rollbacks

    Ahead of former President Donald Trump’s Wednesday visit to East Palestine, Ohio—where a Norfolk Southern-owned train transporting carcinogenic chemicals derailed on February 3, prompting a mass evacuation and release of pollutants—progressive critics highlighted the key role his administration played in making the fiery crash and its toxic aftermath more likely.

    During his speech, Trump—considered a leading GOP presidential candidate for 2024 despite spearheading a deadly coup attempt following his 2020 loss—criticized how President Joe Biden’s administration has responded to the environmental and public health disaster unfolding in East Palestine, a poor rural town of about 4,700 people located a few miles west of the Pennsylvania border.

    But as critics noted beforehand, the Trump administration’s gutting of train safety rules at the behest of railroad industry lobbyists was instrumental in creating the conditions for the derailment and ensuing chemical spill and burnoff, which has provoked fears of groundwater contamination and air pollution.

    “He should be apologizing to that community for his administration rolling back rail regulations,” progressive stalwart Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator, tweeted prior to Trump’s address.

    Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch made a similar point in an opinion piece published earlier this week.

    “If residents of East Palestine—a modern news desert of downsized or disappeared news sources, which allows misinformation to fester—truly knew the reality, a delegation of townsfolk would likely greet Trump with tiki torches and pitchforks,” Bunch wrote, comparing the former president’s visit to “the tendency of a criminal to return to the scene of his crime.”

    Bunch noted that “Trump acted specifically to sabotage a nascent government effort to protect citizens from the growing threat posed by derailments of outdated, poorly equipped, and undermanned freight trains that were increasingly shipping both highly flammable crude oil from the U.S. fracking boom as well as toxic chemicals like the ones that would derail in East Palestine.”

    “Trump had been in office for less than a year when he moved to kill the 2015 rule change initiated by the Obama administration that would have required freight trains to upgrade the current braking technology that was developed in the 19th century for state-of-the-art electronic systems,” wrote Bunch, who pointed out that this came after Norfolk Southern and other rail carriers donated more than $6 million to Republican candidates in 2016 and spent millions more on lobbying.

    “With the investigation into the East Palestine wreck still in its early phases, it’s not clear if the modern brakes—originally required for installation by 2021—could have prevented the toxic derailment or whether the specific Obama rule would have applied,” Bunch continued. “But experts do believe the new brakes could have mitigated the wreckage—and thus the release of so many hazardous chemicals.”

    “The rule reversal wasn’t the only time that Team Trump sided with Big Rail over the forgotten Americans who live on the wrong side of their tracks,” he added. “In 2019, for example, the Trump administration moved to not strengthen but relax regulations on shipping fracked natural gas through communities like East Palestine. The same year, Trump’s White House also killed an Obama-era proposal that would have required two crew members in freight-train locomotives.”

    “The Trump approach to the rail industry was to let the companies do what they wanted, which was to avoid regulations, slash jobs, and extract profit.”

    Ahead of Trump’s visit, More Perfect Union also argued on social media that the ex-president’s “attempt to portray himself as a friend of the town and as someone who would have stood up to Norfolk Southern… couldn’t be further from the truth.”

    As the progressive media outlet observed, the Trump administration “withdrew multiple rail safety recommendations and moved toward a ‘self-regulatory approach’ where rail companies could do as they pleased.”

    “It’s no surprise that the Trump years were filled with dangerous deregulation,” More Perfect Union asserted, describing his decision to nominate top rail industry executives to lead the Federal Railroad Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration as “a prime example of the revolving door between business and government.”

    “The Trump approach to the rail industry was to let the companies do what they wanted, which was to avoid regulations, slash jobs, and extract profit,” the outlet continued. “This approach, and rail companies’ greed, has led to over 1,000 derailments each year. Some are massive catastrophes like East Palestine. But every single one is harmful. And if the industry isn’t regulated and forced to change, we’ll soon be seeing more disasters.”

    When Trump “pretends to care about rail workers, or the people of East Palestine, we can’t believe him,” More Perfect Union added. “His record tells a very different story, the story of his own role in creating this problem in the first place.”

    Even some conservative critics of Trump have questioned the sincerity of his visit.

    “It’s clear that it’s a political stunt,” Ray LaHood, a Republican ex-member of Congress who led the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) during former President Barack Obama’s first term, told Politico on Wednesday. “If he wants to visit, he’s a citizen. But clearly his regulations and the elimination of them, and no emphasis on safety, is going to be pointed out.”

    Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wasted little time in doing exactly that, calling the GOP’s indignation “fake” soon after Trump announced his travel plans.

    Bunch acknowledged that “it’s beyond hypocritical for Trump to bring his Harold Hill-huckster shtick to East Palestine when residents are still experiencing headaches and breathing foul air from the kind of catastrophe he didn’t lift a finger to stop from the Resolute Desk.”

    “But also it’s a bit baffling why Biden or his Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg—who seems to be channeling his inner McKinsey & Co. these days—haven’t gone to Ohio,” he argued. “Especially when Trump and any other Republicans hoping to make political hay off of East Palestine’s misery are coming to town empty-handed.”

    “None of the anti-Biden critics on this issue have offered a solution, because they can’t,” wrote Bunch. “The only fix for the kind of runaway abuses of modern capitalism that cause these environmental catastrophes is government regulation, aided by empowering worker safety with strong unions—two things that the Trump-led GOP has opposed at every turn.”

    Even in the wake of the disaster, Republican lawmakers have refused to demand stronger regulations, as HuffPost reported:

    Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), a vocal Biden critic who represents East Palestine, on Tuesday dismissed immediate calls for stricter rail regulations, saying actions toward accountability will hinge on the findings of a National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB] investigation into the derailment.

    “That will dictate whether there are laws, regulations that need to be changed, whether there were rules that were violated,” he said during a news conference in East Palestine. “We don’t know any of that yet, and we won’t know that until NTSB releases its report.”

    Hours before Trump spoke, Buttigieg announced that he plans to travel to East Palestine on Thursday. His visit is expected to coincide with the publication of the NTSB’s preliminary report about its ongoing probe into the crash.

    “Trump and any other Republicans hoping to make political hay off of East Palestine’s misery are coming to town empty-handed.”

    On Tuesday, Buttigieg unveiled DOT’s recommendations for improving the safety of the nation’s rail system, though an inter-union alliance of rail workers immediately criticized the plan as inadequate.

    Given the scale of the problems—and in light of the transportation secretary’s ongoing refusal to exercise his authority to reinstate previously gutted rules along with his consideration of an industry-backed proposal to further weaken the regulation of train braking systems—union leaders have called for nationalizing the railways and implementing their proposed solutions.

    Turner, for her part, emphasized that she has “been outspoken about the two years the Biden administration had [to] fix these problems.”

    “The Trump administration is at fault, as is the Obama administration,” Turner contended, referring to the fact that the latter’s regulations were also watered down in response to industry pressure.

    “The Ohio GOP is to blame as well,” she added, echoing recent reporting on Norfolk Southern’s campaign to influence state-level lawmakers and officials. “Failure at every level of government and multiple administrations led to this.”

  • Calls Grow for Public Ownership of Rail System Following Ohio Train Derailment

    The toxic clouds that billowed up from a derailed freight train in Ohio earlier this month are a chilling metaphor for the toxic greed that has infected so many of our big corporations. After having to evacuate, residents of the town near the derailment are cautiously going back home, but they still don’t know the full extent of the damage to the area’s environment and public health.

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • East Palestine Residents Told Water Was Safe After ‘Sloppy’ Testing Paid for by Rail Company



    Thousands of people in East Palestine, Ohio have been assured by the state Environmental Protection Agency and Republican Gov. Mike DeWine that the town’s municipal water has not been contaminated by the train derailment that took place in the town earlier this month, but the only publicly available data comes from testing that was funded by the company behind the crash.

    As HuffPost reported late Friday, the Dallas-based consulting firm AECOM contracted with Norfolk Southern, which operated the 150-car train that was carrying the toxic chemical vinyl chloride, to sample water from five wells and from treated municipal water.

    DeWine announced on Wednesday that those tests “showed no evidence of contamination,” but as one aquatic ecologist told HuffPost, the lab report indicates several testing errors that violated federal standards and should have disqualified the results.

    “Their results that claim there were no contaminants is not a reliable finding,” Sam Bickley of the advocacy coalition Virginia Scientist-Community Interface, told the outlet. “I find this extremely concerning because these results would NOT be used in most scientific applications because the samples were not preserved properly, and this is the same data they are now relying on to say that the drinking water is not contaminated.”

    The testing was done on February 10, seven days after the train derailed and authorities began a controlled release of the vinyl chloride, a carcinogen, to avoid an explosion. The burning of vinyl chloride can send hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the environment. The former chemical has been known to cause throat, eye, and skin irritation and the latter can cause vomiting and difficulty breathing.

    An environmental testing lab analyzed the samples on February 13 and 15, according to HuffPost, and scientists who examined that analysis found it to be flawed. As the outlet reported:

    Five of the six collected samples had pH, or acidity, levels that exceeded the 2 pH limit allowed under the EPA method listed in the analysis for detecting volatile organic compounds, rendering them improperly preserved. One sample also “contained a large air bubble in its vial, while the EPA method requires that sample bottles should not have any trapped air bubbles when sealed,” the report states. David Erickson, a hydrogeologist and the founder of Water & Environmental Technologies, an environmental consulting firm in Montana, called the sampling “sloppy” and “amateur.”

    The Biden administration said in a press call Friday that Norfolk Southern has not been solely behind the testing that’s been conducted so far, with a spokesperson telling reporters, “It’s been with the Columbiana County Health Department, collecting samples along with Norfolk Southern and sending those as split samples to two different labs for verification.”

    The state EPA, however, did not receive the health department’s results until after DeWine declared the water safe based on AECOM’s flawed testing.

    The lab report shows low levels of the chemical dibutyl phthalate, which is not linked to cancer in humans but can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness, irritation of the eyes and throat, and seizures.

    Some of the residents who were told days after the derailment that they could safely return to East Palestine have reported symptoms including headaches, nausea, dizziness, and shortness of breath.

    Reuters reported Friday that many East Palestine do not trust state and local authorities, and have been purchasing large quantities of bottled water as they determine whether it’s safe to stay in the town.

    “We’re not getting any truth,” said Ted Murphy, who is now planning to leave the town out of safety concerns just seven months after moving to his current home. “They’re not going to own up to what’s going [into the water] until they are forced to.”

    The U.S. EPA has not conducted any sampling of the municipal water. On Thursday, Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered independent testing of water in local communities. East Palestine is just over the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.

    The state EPA told HuffPost that water testing is ongoing.

    On Friday, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) announced the panel would launch an investigation into the handling of hazardous materials. Railroad workers have been raising alarm in recent years about their employers’ loosening of safety standards in the interest of maximizing profits, and say the reduced safety measures were to blame for the crash.

    This post was originally published on Common Dreams.

  • The truth about the rail strikes

    There’s lot of nonsense flying around in the establishment media about the rail strikes. Curtis Daily explains why the strikes and unions are an essential line of defence against the destructive capitalist system the press and politicians are fighting to uphold.

    The post The truth about the rail strikes appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • London rail workers speak out ahead of national strike

    Rail workers across London spoke to campaign teams from the World Socialist Web Site ahead of the largest national rail strike since 1989.

    50,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union will strike on June 21, 23 and 25, against wage, job and pension cuts. The government is planning an historic attack on the industry under its “Great British Railways” scheme. RMT and Unite members on the London Underground and train drivers represented by the ASLEF union are also due to walk out.

    Reporters found a widening demand for united strike action to confront this threat in transport and throughout the working class. The rail strikes are part of a broader movement of workers across the UK and internationally, driven by spiraling inflation and the impacts of the pandemic and NATO-Russia war in Ukraine.

    The post London rail workers speak out ahead of national strike appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Rail Unions Are Bargaining Over A Good Job Made Miserable

    Contract negotiations covering 115,000 rail workers in the U.S. are expected to heat up in 2022.

    Workers are seething over the impact of extreme cost-cutting measures. Rail unions are escalating through the slow steps of negotiations under the Railway Labor Act—toward a resolution, a strike, or a lockout.

    Rail remains one of the most heavily unionized industries in the country, and rail workers maintain the arteries of the economic system.

    In 2018, U.S. railroads moved 1.73 trillion ton-miles of freight, while trucks moved 2.03 trillion. (One ton-mile is one ton of freight moved one mile.) A slim majority of rail freight consists of bulk commodities, ranging from grain to mined ores to automobiles; slightly less is made up of consumer goods.

    The post Rail Unions Are Bargaining Over A Good Job Made Miserable appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Building or Unbuilding America?

    Infrastructure should be the great economic equalizer. Continue reading

    The post Building or Unbuilding America? appeared first on BillMoyers.com.

    This post was originally published on BillMoyers.com.