OHIO — Ohio senators are teaming up with lawmakers across the country to draft a bill focused on safety changes for the rail industry.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, it was prompted by derailments in Ohio and the Miami Valley, which drew new attention to the chemicals hauled through local communities every day.
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Ohio has the fourth-largest rail network in the country.
All kinds of hazmat roll through the Miami Valley every day on the rails.
Safety reform for the train industry is slower to move.
Three years ago, the first swing at this bill went nowhere.
In 2023, derailed tank cars spewed flames and toxic chemicals into the air, the ground, and the water in East Palestine.
The disaster prompted all kinds of action from state and federal leaders.
“I was there in the days after the incident,” Senator Jon Husted said. “It unsettled many lives.”
Husted was Ohio’s Lieutenant Governor then.
“The community’s still, you know, trying to recover three years later. So it’s important that we improve railway safety,” Husted said.
To do that, Husted said he’s part of a group of bipartisan senators from seven states who have introduced the “Railway Safety Act of 2026.”
It pushes for changes, including requiring rail companies to notify states what they’re hauling.
“The legislation, it builds on what now Vice President Vance was working on when he was in the U.S. Senate,” Husted said.
As the I-Team has previously reported, the original Railway Safety Act, sponsored by the Ohio Senators JD Vance and Sherrod Brown in 2023, never got a floor vote in the Senate.
News Center 7’s I-Team Lead Investigator John Bedell asked Husted what’s different this time.
“Well, I certainly believe that we have an ally in the White House in the sense that JD Vance is there, and JD can help with this. And I know President Trump is very supportive of it,” Husted said.
Bedell also asked Husted about the timing of the proposed rail safety changes.
“Why haven’t safety regulations like this become law before? Why has this legislation taken so long to happen?” Bedell asked.
“Well, look, the industry has opposed it in the past, and they have allies in Congress who will work with them because people don’t like mandates,” Husted said.
Husted told the I-Team that he’s talked about the rail industry and its unions about reintroducing the bill.
“We expect them to engage constructively in bringing it to turning it into a law, and protecting people because that’s what it should be about,” Husted said.
The I-Team reached out to the Association of American Railroads on Thursday and got the following statement.
“Freight railroads continue to advance safety through sustained investment in the core network, deployment of proven and emerging technologies, and rigorous operating standards. Because of this, railroads are in the midst of their safest era ever and remain the safest way to move goods over land. As Congress considers any rail safety legislation, policymakers should reject backwards-looking, one-size-fits-all mandates that undermine competition and raise prices for consumers, and instead ensure each provision is objectively grounded in data to reduce risk. The priority should be policies that encourage innovation and measurable safety outcomes without disrupting the supply chain or diverting resources from proven, safety-critical investments.”
— Ted Greener - AAR’s Senior Vice President, Communications
There’s also an app that the rail industry partners call “Ask Rail.”
It’s optional for first responders. They can look up what hazmat trains are hauling on the app.
Dayton Regional Hazmat and several fire chiefs across the region told the I-Team that they use the app.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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