Congresswoman Dina Titus, Ranking Member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, introduced legislation today to ensure freight rail safety through communities by instituting comprehensive human and automated track inspection requirements. 

“Trains carrying hazardous materials run right through my District in the heart of Las Vegas,” said Congresswoman Titus. “The Secure Tracks Act will help ensure that any track defects that put our safety at risk are identified and addressed right away, protecting rail workers and our community from the health and environmental risks associated with derailments. This common-sense legislation will save lives and protect our property and the environment. It is a win-win-win.” 

Congresswoman Titus and Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced the Secure Tracks Act which would require that visual track inspections be conducted by a human track inspector at least twice a week. Under this bipartisan legislation, if an inspector finds a track defect, the inspector would need to immediately address it. 

This legislation also requires railroads to use Automated Track Inspection (ATI) technology at regular intervals to supplement and support visual track inspections. The Secure Tracks Act leverages safety technology while safeguarding the vital role visual track inspections play in protecting communities surrounding railroad tracks.

This legislation has been endorsed by Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED-IBT); the Teamsters Rail Conference; the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; the Transportation Trades Department (AFL-CIO); the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS); the National Conference of Fireman and Oilers (NCFO, SEIU); the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Mechanical Division (SMART-MD); the Transportation Communications Union (TCU); and the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA). 

“Wisconsin families and businesses depend on safe and reliable railroads to get them to work, to get their products to customers, and for things they buy at the store. Railroads run through their cities and towns, and they deserve to know that every track is up to snuff and safe,” said Senator Baldwin. “I am all for using technology to keep our trains on the tracks and communities safe from derailments, but what we have learned is that technology can’t do it all alone. It misses things that humans see and hear, and if we want to make sure our railroads are safe, we need both technology and real people who have the experience and knowledge.”

“Safety must be our top priority when it comes to our nation’s railroads,” Senator Hawley said. “Technology can help us monitor our railways but there is no substitute for in-person inspections conducted by railroad professionals. We can’t cut corners, especially when it comes to keeping our trains on the tracks. Technology must serve workers—not the other way around.” 

BMWED President Tony Cardwell said, “I want to commend Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) as well as Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV, 1^st District) for coming together to introduce the bipartisan Secure Tracks Act.

“The country’s largest freight railroads, increasingly consolidated in their stranglehold of America’s rail network, are actively attempting to reduce visual track inspections by 50 to 75 percent through what they’re branding as ‘automated track inspection’ (ATI). They are shamelessly putting the safety of communities and rail workers at risk of more track-caused derailments in the name of profit when they are already making more money than ever.

“Sens. Baldwin and Hawley and Rep. Titus recognize that fact. They all understand that ATI is nothing more than a tool — one that can enhance the imperative work that BMWED track inspectors perform daily, but which cannot replicate, let alone replace, the intuition, insight, expertise, and instinct that they have honed through decades of committed professionalism and stewardship of public safety.

“The Secure Tracks Act is a commonsense bill to protect union railroaders and the communities we serve. It will maintain the current twice weekly visual inspections that have kept our rail tracks and communities safe for decades and the requirement that inspectors start fixing track defects immediately when they are found — all while responsibly incorporating technological advancements.

“Rail safety is not a contentious partisan issue. Americans trust the railroads to be safe. The men and women of the BMWED take that public confidence sincerely. Let’s pass the Secure Tracks Act into law so that every American can sleep soundly at night knowing that a professional human track inspector ensured that every inch of our country’s railroad is safe.”

Background: 

As the Ranking Member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, Congresswoman Titus has been a champion for rail safety. In June, she wrote a letter to Secretary Duffy urging him to deny a waiver request to drastically reduce the number of visual track safety inspections required of Class I railroads. 

Ranking Member Titus has also made it clear that addressing rail safety is a top priority for the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization. In particular, she is advocating for provisions that take the lessons learned from the East Palestine train derailment to prevent another environmental and health disaster of that magnitude.