U.S. Senate committee to vote on bipartisan rail safety bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday will vote on sweeping bipartisan rail safety legislation prompted after a Norfolk Southern-operated train derailment on Feb. 3 in Ohio.

Committee chair Maria Cantwell said the legislation will mandate the use of technology that can identify equipment failures, prevents cursory railcar inspections, and ensures trains carrying explosive material like the Ohio train comply with stronger safety regulations.

It would also increases maximum civil penalties from $100,000 to $10 million for rail safety violations and requires two crewmembers to operate a train to prevent a situation where only a single employee is on the train in an emergency.