The bill would impose new safety regulations, as well as penalties for companies that disregard them.

It’s been nearly a month since the major derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in the town of East Palestine, Ohio, and cleanup efforts are still ongoing. The precise scope of the damage caused by the toxic chemicals that spilled from the overturned train is still under investigation, while efforts to clean up the impacted air, water, and soil continue.

A bipartisan group of senators is introducing a new bill aimed at shoring up rail safety in the aftermath of the toxic Norfolk Southern train derailment disaster in East Palestine, Ohio. https://t.co/1M7rcO0GSC

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 1, 2023

In an effort to prevent a rail-based disaster like this from happening again, a bipartisan coalition of Ohio Senators have proposed the Railway Safety Act of 2023, a new bill intended to shore up railway safety regulations and punish companies who disregard them with steep fines.

“Through this legislation, Congress has a real opportunity to ensure that what happened in East Palestine will never happen again,” Senator JD Vance, one of the bill’s major sponsors, said in a statement. “We owe every American the peace of mind that their community is protected from a catastrophe of this kind.”

Two House Democrats plan to introduce a bill to tighten rail safety regulation, the first legislative proposal to emerge in Congress since the derailment of a freight train carrying toxic substances in Ohio. https://t.co/0tiV5AzpwH

— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 28, 2023

“Rail lobbyists have fought for years to protect their profits at the expense of communities like East Palestine and Steubenville and Sandusky,” added Senator Sherrod Brown, who lamented that it took a disaster of this scale to bring about change. “These commonsense bipartisan safety measures will finally hold big railroad companies accountable, make our railroads and the towns along them safer, and prevent future tragedies, so no community has to suffer like East Palestine again.”