Train safety regulations at center of Homeland Security committee hearing

Andrew, there's really not much that the state can do. That was the message today. Tightening safety regulations and enforcement of those safety regulations has to come at the federal level. That was the message today from the leader of one of the largest rail labor unions. There are a lot of limitations with preemption at the federal level. John Esterle is the chairman of the Ohio State Legislative Board with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, the union that represents many railroad employees. He says regulation can happen on the state level, but there are limitations.

There is the caveat that it cannot restrict rail business severely. Esterle is pushing for tighter safety regulations in a transportation budget request. He wants to see two-person crews maintained on freight trains and clear guidance on wayside defect detectors, which detect issues with rail cars. He says there needs to be direction on what happens when they alert the crew to a problem. Esterle says there was a detector in East Palestine and another one 19 miles west. There are 15 active railroads in Ohio and there are seven that report to us on high hazard. And even though the train that derailed in East Palestine was not considered high hazard, Karen Huey, the assistant director for the Ohio Department of Safety, says there's a need to have a better knowledge of exactly what's being transported and how often.

There is an ability for a local EMA manager to understand or director to understand generally what travels through. It's just when the crash occurs or something occurs, it's not so easy for them to determine what was on that train. Now back to those safety requests. Those were submitted the language to the finance committee as part of House Bill 23, which had a second hearing today. Live at the State House, Lindsay Mills, 10 TV News.

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