Rail Safety Act of 2025: Congress urged to move H.R. 928

Rail Safety Act of 2025 supporters used the third anniversary of the Palestine, Ohio, derailment and hazardous-materials release to renew calls for Congress to act on rail safety legislation that has been stalled in committee, as reported by Trains.com.

On Tuesday, Feb. 3, that message was delivered at a press conference that brought together lawmakers, mayors, and union officials. They pressed for movement on H.R. 928, the Rail Safety Act of 2025, which was introduced exactly one year earlier. Among those present were U.S. Reps. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Mike Rulli (R-Ohio), and John Garamendi (D-Calif.).

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Rail Safety Act of 2025 provisions in focus

Backers pointed to provisions aimed at tighter rules for trains moving hazardous materials, including train-length limits and two-person crew requirements. The measure also calls for phasing out DOT-111 tank cars for flammable liquids and directs the Department of Transportation to set standards for the installation and operation of wayside defect detectors, as outlined in the Congress.gov summary for H.R. 928.

Why the rail safety legislation remains stalled?

A version introduced in 2023 died in committee, and the current bill has not advanced since being assigned to the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. Speakers urged Congress to pass the measure out of committee or incorporate it into the upcoming Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill.

Deluzio said he has not forgotten the 2023 Norfolk Southern derailment and argued that making rail safer means pushing back against corporate power. Garamendi, in comments reported by KOVR-TV, described the bill as sensible, not complex, and “very, very important.”

Others at the event included Reps. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), mayors Matt Pacifico of Altoona, Pa., and Michael Lombardo of Pittston, Pa., and union leaders Greg Regan of the Transportation Trades Division of the AFL-CIO, Michael Baldwin of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, and Edward Kelly of the International Association of Firefighters. Regan said his organization has warned about rail safety for years and has advocated for stronger federal measures, adding: “The time for action is now.”

New rail bills: Rail Safety and Accountability Act and RAIL Act

Also on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes said she will introduce the Rail Safety and Accountability Act, which would codify the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Safety Advisory Committee. The FRA has begun reestablishing the committee — at a smaller size — after it was disbanded last year, and Sykes said codifying it would help ensure it remains in place across administrations; her remarks were reported by public broadcaster WOSU. Full text of the bill is not yet available.

Sykes is also a cosponsor of the Reducing Accidents in Locomotives (RAIL) Act. A 2023 version died in committee; the current version, H.R. 971, overlaps provisions of the Railway Safety Act and also remains in committee.

For additional background context on the East Palestine derailment, see Railway Supply coverage of the incident.

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