IN WAKE OF EAST PALESTINE TRAIN DERAILMENT, CONGRESSMAN RYAN DEMANDS CSX ADOPT SAFETY STANDARDS TO PREVENT DISASTER IN HUDSON VALLEY, CALLS FOR URGENT CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON RAIL SAFETY

In Wake of East Palestine Train Derailment, Congressman Ryan Demands CSX Adopt Safety Standards to Prevent Disaster in Hudson Valley, Calls for Urgent Congressional Hearing on Rail Safety

CSX trains, often carrying toxic materials, have derailed repeatedly over the past several years, including in the Hudson Valley, posing immediate risk to lives and threatening catastrophic environmental damage

With operating income of $6 billion, Ryan calls on CSX to prioritize investments in rail safety and fair pay for its workers, instead of lining the pockets of its executives and shareholders

WASHINGTON, DC –  In the wake of the Norfolk Southern crisis in East Palestine, Ohio, Congressman Pat Ryan, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee, today wrote a letter to CSX President and CEO Joseph Hinrichs demanding the company adopt additional safety standards to prevent similar accidents happening in the Hudson Valley. Ryan also made an urgent call for a Congressional hearing on rail safety, which falls under the jurisdiction of the T&I committee. 

“We’ve seen a disturbing pattern of CSX consistently putting profit over safety, creating serious risk that what happened in Ohio could repeat itself right here in the Hudson Valley,” said Representative Pat Ryan. “Just like Norfolk Southern, CSX and other big rail corporations spent millions lobbying the last President to deregulate the railways, resulting in the administration withdrawing a proposal to require faster brakes on trains carrying highly flammable materials and ending regular rail safety audits of railroads. The American people are now paying the price for this corporate greed. I’m calling on CSX to immediately and proactively adopt common-sense safety standards, and demanding that the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hold a hearing so that we can protect families in the Hudson Valley and across the United States.”

“Just a few years ago, a CSX derailment in Newburgh spilled 4600 tons of diesel fuel – I am worried a future derailment could cause even more damage,” said Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey. “To wait any longer to make these safety changes is unacceptable. CSX cannot stand by while communities of color like mine sit on what feels like a ticking time-bomb.  I want to thank Congressman Ryan for working directly with local leaders, and for always fighting for the Hudson Valley. Whether it be standing up to Central Hudson or CSX, I know he has our back.”

“As recently as 2021, the Hudson 7 notified CSX of potential bridge failures and the concern that a bridge failure could lead to hazardous chemical and oil spills and contamination of the Hudson River and the Esopus Creek,” said Village of Rhinebeck Mayor and Chair of the Hudson 7 Gary Bassett. “These seven municipalities in Dutchess and Ulster Counties provide drinking water to 106,000 residents, three hospitals, three colleges, and major regional employers.  Given the hazardous nature of some of the product being transported on this line and the line's proximity to the River and to the drinking water intakes, Hudson 7 believes it is essential that CSX and other railroad companies voluntarily comply with the Department of Transportation’s recommendations to make railways safer in order to avoid contaminating spills. Thank you Congressman Ryan for bringing this issue the attention it deserves and elevating our concerns to the federal level.”

CSX trains, often carrying toxic materials, have derailed repeatedly in the past few years, posing immediate risk to American lives and threatening catastrophic environmental damage.This includes a derailment a month ago in South Carolina, two derailments in January of this year that caused power outages in Ohio and Michigan, and a 2017 derailment in Newburgh that spilled 4600 tons of diesel fuel. 

This is in addition to frequent freight stoppages (as recently as last September), and an unreasonably high number of accidents, including the tragic death of an Ulster County resident in 2021 and a near-death experience in Kingston two weeks ago. 

The CSX River Subdivision runs 131 miles through the Hudson Valley and New Jersey, including the cities of Newburgh and Kingston and the town of Saugerties. This portion of the track can see 20 freight trains per day, with as many as 5 carrying the explosion-prone Bakken crude oil. Given the line’s direct proximity to the Hudson River and population centers, any incident involving this toxic cargo could be catastrophic, threatening the drinking water of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. 

Congressman Ryan is calling on Congress to immediately enact the following rail safety measures by:

1. Increasing the maximum fines that USDOT can issue to rail companies for violating safety regulations. The current maximum fine, even for an egregious violation involving hazardous materials and resulting in fatalities, is $225,455. This is a rounding error for a company like Norfolk Southern that reported an astonishing record annual operating income in 2022 of $4.8 billion, and has posted operating margins approaching 40%.
2. Following through on new bipartisan support to expand and strengthen rules governing high-hazardous shipments, including high-hazard flammable trains (HHFT), pushing past industry opposition. 
3. Following through on new bipartisan support to modernize braking regulations and increase the use of electronically controlled pneumatic brakes (ECP). 
4. Speeding up the phase-in of safer (DOT 117) tank cars to carry hazardous materials.  Congress established a phase-in schedule under the 2015 FAST Act which gives owners of tank cars until 2029 to fully adopt stronger (DOT 117) tank cars. The original 2015 HHFT Rule required the phase-in by 2025. Congress must act now to speed, rather than slow, this important safety measure. 
5. Increasing funding to expand hazardous materials training for first responders

Ryan also urges Norfolk Southern, CSX and the entire freight rail industry to:

1. Protect workers who spot safety issues from reprisal, by joining FRA’s Confidential Close Call Reporting Program. This program allows railroads and their employees to report unsafe events and conditions without fear of negative consequences from the FRA or reprisal from their employers. To date Amtrak, many commuter rail and short line companies are part of this program, but not a single Class I railroad participates. This must change immediately. 
2. Deploy new inspection technologies without seeking permission to abandon human inspections. The removal of human inspections has been a top priority for the rail lobbyists. Recent waiver requests around technology like Automated Track Inspection (ATI) have been framed by industry to set up a false choice between technology and human oversight. We need both to keep our nation’s railroads safe.
3. Require the owners of tank cars they operate to expedite the phase-in of safer (DOT 117) tank cars in advance of the Congressionally mandated 2029 deadline. 
4. Provide proactive advance notification to state emergency response teams when they are transporting hazardous gas tank cars through their states instead of expecting first responders to look up this information after an incident occurs. USDOT is also pursuing further requirements in this area, but railroads should not wait. 
5. Provide paid sick leave. A healthy and well-supported workforce is a safer workforce. This doesn’t have to wait for national negotiations—companies can come to terms individually with their labor unions. Some carriers are in the process of doing this. Congressman Ryan believes that all workers deserve paid sick leave. 

A copy of Ryan’s original letter to CSX President and CEO Joseph Hinrichs appears below:

March 1, 2023

Mr. Joseph Hinrichs 

President and Chief Executive Officer 

CSX Transportation

500 Water Street 

Jacksonville, FL 32202 

Mr. Hinrichs, 

The derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials near East Palestine, Ohio is a national crisis that has upended the lives of numerous residents. They are already dealing with the immediate health impacts, the extent of which we are only beginning to understand. This is not to mention the long-term and potentially catastrophic environmental repercussions of the dangerous materials released in their communities. Following this disaster, and in the wake of deregulation of the railroad industry during the Trump Administration, I am deeply concerned about the potential for a similar accident in the Hudson Valley. I am writing to demand CSX adopt common-sense safety standards to protect families in the Hudson Valley and across the United States.

CSX must take urgent action and implement the Department of Transportation’s proposals to make railways safer. This includes protecting workers who spot safety issues from reprisal, deploying new inspection technologies, proactively giving advance notifications to state emergency response teams when railways are transporting hazardous gas tank cars through states, and providing paid sick leave to hard-working rail workers. These steps are necessary to protect the American people; we will no longer tolerate you putting profits over safety.  

In the past, CSX and other rail companies have spent millions on lobbying efforts to oppose safety regulations, resulting most recently in the Trump administration withdrawing a proposal to require faster brakes on trains carrying highly flammable materials and ending regular rail safety audits of railroads. While the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has not made a final determination on why the Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine derailed, it is blindingly obvious that deregulation of the railroad industry has made our railways, and in turn our communities, less safe. 

CSX trains, often carrying toxic materials, have derailed repeatedly across the country in the past several years, posing immediate risk to American lives and threatening catastrophic environmental damage. This includes a derailment a month ago in South Carolina, two derailments in January of this year that caused power outages in Ohio and Michigan, and in my district a 2017 derailment in Newburgh that spilled 4600 tons of diesel fuel. 

This is in addition to frequent freight stoppages (as recently as last September), and an unreasonably high number of accidents, including the tragic death of an Ulster County resident in 2021 and a near-death experience in Kingston two weeks ago. 

We must use these derailments as a call to action to immediately improve rail safety for workers and communities. 

You can certainly afford it. CSX’s fourth quarter 2022 operating income was $1.46 billion. Operating income for the year was $6.0 billion, up 8% from the previous year — it is long past time for your company to do the right thing and reinvest this income back into rail safety and into your workers’ paychecks, instead of lining the pockets of your executives and shareholders. 

I expect CSX will take immediate action to ensure that we can address public safety concerns and prevent future disasters. I look forward to your response. 

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