Attorney Shawn Collins is quoted in an article in DC Velocity, criticizing the rail industry's sudden rush to unveil new safety initiatives just so they can set their own operating standards before federal regulators step in and set more rigorous ones. The industry is trying to preempt Washington policymakers from taking action in response to the toxic derailment in East Palestine, Ohio and claiming that their own rail safety measures will prevent future train derailments.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
Despite the rail industry's effort to set its own safety rules, other groups are already lining up to support tighter government regulation. The train workers' union the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has already announced its support for the Rail Safety Act of 2023, a bill that would enhance safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials, establish requirements for wayside defect detectors, create a permanent requirement for railroads to operate with at least two-person crews, and increase fines for wrongdoing committed by rail carriers.
And Illinois-based environmental advocates with The Collins Law Firm have criticized Norfolk Southern's six-point safety plan for vague language, a lack of specifics, and no clear timetable. "This is Norfolk Southern saying it doesn't plan to do anything that matters," the firm's partner and owner Shawn Collins said in a release. "It just wants us to think that it's doing something, while it plays for time, trusting that this gibberish will placate industry friendly regulators and elected officials until the horrific train derailment in East Palestine is off the front page. History has proven that this cynical strategy will work."
Read the complete article, titled "As federal regulators plan tighter oversight, Norfolk Southern and AAR unveil their own rail safety plans" here.
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