(File Photo of Congressman Chris Deluzio)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Washington, D.C.) Congressmen Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17) and Michael Rulli (R-OH-06) announced new, bipartisan rail safety legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives today. The bill that was introduced is called the Under Pressure Act of 2026, and it would study the performance of pressure relief devices on rail tank cars in a fiery derailment. The study bill from Deluzio was crafted with rail industry groups, multiple labor unions that represent rail workers and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). According to a release today in Washington D.C. from Deluzio’s office, specifically, the bill would:
- Require the FRA to submit a report to Congress on the rate and causes of rail tank car pressure relief device failures in derailments;
- Require this report to make recommendations to prevent such failures; and
- Require the report to include a status update on any recommendations issued by the NTSB on rail tank cars that have not been sufficiently answered.
Congressmen Deluzio and Rulli represent the communities in Pennsylvania and Ohio that were most directly impacted by the February 3rd, 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment that happened in East Palestine, Ohio. The duo also worked together on the Railway Safety Act of 2025, a comprehensive rail safety legislation. In July of 2025, Deluzio and Rulli also held a joint rail safety roundtable with union rail workers and leaders from both Beaver County and Eastern Ohio.
