Bipartisan support emerges for Senate railroad safety bill

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw, second from right, testifies before a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing on improving rail safety in response to the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan consensus that Congress should act to toughen regulations on railroads is emerging in the U.S. Senate. The Senate Commerce Committee is examining a fiery hazardous train derailment last month on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Republicans and Democrats on the committee peppered Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw with questions Wednesday on what enhanced safety measures he would support. Shaw offered support for some safety enhancements but declined to endorse several key parts of the bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023. The bill includes requirements that trains have crews of at least two people, expands the classification for highly hazardous flammable trains and increases fines for safety violations.