Deluzio focuses on safety as he and Sen. Markey introduce a new rail bill

Senator Edward J. Markey was a serious man in a business suit for the first nine minutes of a Tuesday press conference introducing a new rail bill called the All Aboard Act. He talked about organized labor and environmental leaders joining together to support the measure, which he said “could reshape how our society travels.”

Then the Massachusetts Democrat went off the rails, so to speak (we couldn’t resist the pun). Actually, he was just adding a bit of whimsy.

“I’m here to say, ‘All aboard on that train for the future,’” said Markey. Then he pulled out a toy train whistle, pressed it to his lips and gave a “toot-toot.”

His partner in this new bill is Chris Deluzio, the Democratic Congressman from Western Pennsylvania. Those watching a video feed of the Washington D.C. announcement couldn’t see Deluzio’s reaction – he was slightly off camera – but when Markey introduced him seconds later, Deluzio eschewed any whimsey. He was all business.

Deluzio’s district includes Beaver County communities that take rail issues seriously. It’s a lesson they learned nearly two years ago, after a Norfolk Southern train hauling hazardous chemicals derailed and burned in East Palestine, Ohio, a few hundred yards from the Pennsylvania state line. The toxic fallout from that event has created ongoing health concerns for a number of Beaver County residents.

Shortly after that disaster, Deluzio and a Republican colleague, Congressman Nick LaLota of New York, introduced the Railway Safety Act. That bill focuses on regulations, fines and safety mandates for freight rial, and Deluzio has been pushing it ever since.

The new bill introduced Tuesday is different in that it sets aside money for both passenger and freight rail improvements. It covers a lot of ground. It would allocate $200 billion over five years to build high speed rail, electrify certain rail yards and corridors, and expand passenger service. It establishes a worker training program, which will please labor leaders, and provides money to electrify certain heavily polluting rail yards, a provision that addresses concerns about climate change and health problems associated with all those emissions from diesel locomotives.

Deluzio points out that the legislation includes $10 billion to improve the safety of some problematic railroad crossings.

“I hear about this in my district a lot,” Deluzio said. “We have lots of rail crossings that can slow down first responders – cops ambulances, you name it. I have one in my district in Cheswick that has the second highest accident rate in the whole northeast United States.”

Deluzio called the bill an investment in rail workers and noted the number of unions supporting the legislation. 

“That’s a great sign of support from the workers whose livelihoods and jobs lie in the balance,” he said.

Like Markey, Deluzio touted the importance of building an efficient and clean rail system, but he spent most of his time talking about safety.

“I have spent a lot of time, more time than I expected, working on rail issues,” he said. “Our neighbors in East Palestine lived through the horrific Norfolk Southern derailment, as did my constituents in Beaver County. We know we’ve got to fight for our people, for they’re safety and security. We know we can’t trust the big railroads to regulate themselves. We need action from Congress to protect communities like mine who live near tracks.”

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In endorsing the legislation, Chris Townsend of the United Electrical Workers, which represents tens of thousands of workers in the rail industry, many of them in Pennsylvania, noted that the UE has spent years pushing for green locomotives. He described the older diesel models as “filthy.”

“We have too many old jalopy locomotives rolling around out there that need to be replaced by new clean and electrified rail pieces,” he said.

He was followed to the podium by Athena Motavvef of the Union of Concerned Scientists. She noted that American railroads, while efficient, are a major source of air pollution that has long-lasting impacts on public health. Most locomotives in the U.S. are diesel powered, she said, and some are so old they contain no emission controls.

Other countries have surged ahead fo the The United States in modernizing their rail equipment, she noted.

“In the United States, only one percent of our rail is electric,” Motavvef said. “In comparison, Switzerland is at 100 percent. India, for example, is at 94 percent. They should be at 100 percent by next year. So there’s a lot of work to do.”

In addition to trailing other countries in building electric railroads, the U.S. is behind in setting standards for railroad worker safety and “making it so people can get from point A to point B if their car breaks down,” said Saul Levin of the Green New Deal Network. “We’re tremendously behind and it’s frankly an international embarrassment.”