U.S. Department of Transportation Fact Sheet: Steps Forward on Freight Rail Industry Safety & Accountability

Jan 31, 2024

For well over a century, railroads have been an indispensable part of America's economy, society, and way of life. Our rail system must be kept safe—safe for the workers who operate it, and for the communities that rely on it. Safety is USDOT's top priority. That means ensuring each and every day that the freight rail industry is living up to their obligations to keep communities and workers safe; funding infrastructure projects to improve our nation's rail network; and working with Congress to advance regulation in areas that need it.

In the early 2010s we saw a number of high-profile freight rail incidents across the U.S. and Canada, including one that left nearly 50 people dead. Those events led to the passage of significant new rail safety rules—over strong opposition from industry.

Since those changes, there has been real improvement; derailments decreased by 15%, and lives were certainly saved. But today, there are still over a thousand derailments every year—proof that the freight rail industry can and must do more. Committing to greater safety requires investing in human and physical infrastructure. Instead, in the intervening years the railroad industry has actively lobbied Congress to roll back or weaken some of these rules. And according to the chair of the Surface Transportation Board, since 2016, Class 1 railroads have cut their workforce by almost 30 percent. The Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine—which upended the lives of residents and raised fears in communities across the country that sit on or near freight rail lines—only underscores the urgency of making further progress on this issue.

USDOT is committed to using the full range of our authority, as well as the funding available to us from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to improve safety on our railroads. Achieving the highest level of rail safety will also require active and continued partnership from Congress. And rail companies must also take urgent, dedicated action that includes not just complying with current standards but decisively putting the long-term safety of workers and communities ahead of short-term opportunities to supercharge profits. "Profit and expediency must never outweigh the safety of the American people," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "We at USDOT are doing everything in our power to improve rail safety, and we insist that the rail industry do the same – while inviting Congress to work with us to raise the bar."

We are calling on Norfolk Southern and the entire freight railroad industry to act immediately to:

USDOT will continue, and further enhance, its work on freight rail safety, including:

Congress can strengthen rail safety by:

Each of these steps will enhance rail safety in the United States. In the specific case of the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, NTSB continues to lead the safety investigation, and once the investigation is complete, its results will form the basis for future potential action and policy recommendations as well as all appropriate steps to hold Norfolk Southern accountable.

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