(File Photo of State Representative Rob Matzie)

Noah Haswelll, Beaver County Radio News

(Ambridge, PA) According to a release in Ambridge from State Representative Rob Matzie’s office, Matzie praised today the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s (PUC’s) decision to review its rail safety regulations, saying the commission will consider some of the same safety measures in his own rail safety bill that passed the House. The PUC’s action that occurred on Friday that granted a motion for proposed rulemaking, offered by PUC Commissioner Kathryn Zerfuss, mirrors the call of Matzie for stronger state regulation of rail safety, which is a move he says is needed in the absence of better federal oversight. Matzie explained: “I applaud Commissioner Zerfuss and the PUC for taking the reins on rail safety, and I’m glad the commission plans to focus on some of the same reporting, oversight and equipment issues I call for in my rail safety legislation. With thousands of miles of rail running through our region and federal regulations falling short, time is of the essence. We can’t afford to wait for another East Palestine.” Matzie also stated that the experts of the PUC will review rail safety regulations with respect to five areas, which includes the proper functioning of wayside detectors that are trackside sensors that warn when train cars are overheating because of problems that can cause derailment. That equipment is one focus of H.B. 1191 from Matzie, which was adopted by the House Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee by a large, bipartisan margin in December of 2025 and is awaiting a vote by the full House. Similar legislation that was sponsored by Matzie passed the House in 2023, but never received a vote in the Pennsylvania Senate.