One Year After The Train Derailment Disaster In East Palestine, Rep. Sykes Continues To Fight For Passage Of The Bipartisan RAIL Act
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes (OH-13) issued a statement calling on Congress to uphold the will of Americans across the political spectrum and immediately pass the RAIL Act, her bipartisan legislation to improve rail safety, hold railroad corporations accountable, and prevent tragic derailments.
“It’s been one year since the toxic train derailment completely upended the East Palestine community, yet Congress has failed to pass any rail safety legislation to prevent another tragic derailment. It’s simply inexcusable,” said Rep. Sykes. “The people of East Palestine, and every American across the country concerned about derailments in their backyards, can’t wait any longer. I urge the House Majority leadership to stop playing politics with people’s lives and pass my bipartisan RAIL Act now. As the only Ohioan on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I’ll keep fighting to advance the RAIL Act to improve rail safety, hold negligent rail companies accountable, and keep our communities safe.”
Rep. Sykes is the lead sponsor of the RAIL Act, which is co-sponsored by 11 members of the Ohio delegation, including Reps. Max Miller (OH-07), Greg Landsman (OH-3), Troy Balderson (OH-12), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Mike Carey (OH-15), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Dave Joyce (OH-14), Shontel Brown (OH-11), Mike Turner (OH-10).
Ohio, which has one of the country’s largest railroad networks, ranks third worst in the nation for serious train accidents and hazardous materials spills. From 2019 through November 2022, 281 train accidents occurred in Ohio. In the one year since the East Palestine derailment, derailments increased nationwide by 13.5 percent, according to data compiled by the Federal Railroad Administration and by the New York Times.