Railway Safety Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Senator Husted, Jon [R-OH]
Introduced
Summary
Modernizes rail safety for high-hazard trains. This bill would require lower speeds for dangerous shipments, force real-time cargo and route data sharing, tighten tank-car and defect-detection standards, and set crew and inspection rules.
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- Residents near rail lines: New nationwide speed caps of 50 miles per hour generally and 40 miles per hour for high-hazard trains with 20 or more cars carrying flammable liquids in High Threat Urbanized Areas aim to cut derailment and release risk.
- First responders, States, and Tribes: Class I railroads must provide real-time electronic train-consist data, weekly commodity-flow reports by county, and coordinated hazardous-materials emergency-response plans to improve preparedness.
- Rail workers and commuter operators: The bill would require two-person freight crews on main-line Class I trains, expand pre-departure and periodic inspections, mandate extra daily locomotive checks, and create temporary grants to help commuter railroads install defect detectors.
*Would increase federal spending by authorizing targeted grants and appropriations such as $25.0 million for FRA research, $5.0 million for tank-car safety, and by establishing fee-backed funding for a Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Fund.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
10 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 2 costs, 3 mixed.
New train speed and emergency signal rules
If enacted, DOT would evaluate safety issues and update operational rules within one year. The bill would cap all trains at 50 miles per hour and limit high-hazard trains with 20 or more flammable-liquid cars to 40 miles per hour inside High-Threat Urban Areas unless tank cars meet DOT-117 specifications. DOT would also require steps to prevent placing empty car blocks that increase derailment risk and to add buffer cars, and RSAC would meet within 30 days and ask a working group to develop emergency brake-signal recommendations within 90 days.
Much higher civil penalties for violators
If enacted, civil penalties for violating rail safety requirements could rise sharply. For most violators the penalty per violation would be $5,000 to $1,000,000. Small businesses would face $1,000 to $200,000 per violation. If a violation causes death, serious illness, severe injury, imminent hazard, or substantial property destruction, the Secretary may raise the maximum to $5,000,000 (or $500,000 for small businesses). The Secretary may double penalties for repeated violations or deliberate indifference, and each day a violation continues may be treated as a separate violation.
Phase-out of older flammable tank cars
If enacted, beginning December 31, 2027, rail tank cars could not carry many Class 3 flammable liquids in packing groups II and III unless the cars meet DOT-117, DOT-117P, or DOT-117R specifications (including specified DOT variants). The Secretary would have to remove or revise conflicting regulatory deadlines and could delay the start to December 31, 2028 if the Comptroller General finds insufficient manufacturing or retrofit capacity or significant interstate commerce impacts. The Comptroller General must report within 18 months on manufacturing and retrofit capacity and numbers of cars affected.
Minimum two-person freight crews
If enacted, freight trains operated by Class I railroads would generally need at least two crew members: one certified conductor and one certified locomotive engineer. Narrow exceptions would apply (for non-main-line moves, assisting locomotives, short unattached locomotives, and operations that had fewer than two people for at least a year before enactment unless the Secretary finds equivalent safety). The two-person rule would not apply to high-hazard trains or trains 7,500 feet or longer, and carriers could seek waivers under existing law.
New rules and grants for defect detectors
If enacted, DOT would start rulemaking within 1 year and must issue a final rule within 2 years requiring Class I railroads to submit risk-based defect-detector network plans and implement them on a set timeline. The rule would set performance standards, require testing and reporting, make plan summaries public with limited redactions, and allow civil penalties for noncompliance. The bill would authorize $25,000,000 for FRA grants for defect-detector research and development and would allow temporary formula grants to commuter railroads that had contracts requiring detectors as of May 1, 2026. The GAO would also study worker-protection technologies and report to Congress within 1 year.
Local hazmat plans and train info
If enacted, Class I railroads carrying hazardous materials would have to create accurate, real-time electronic train-consist lists and enter agreements so fusion centers and first responders get secure access during incidents. Railroads could not withhold that information from emergency officials during a response. DOT would also require Class I railroads that run high-hazard trains to submit hazardous materials emergency response plans in the National Response Team 'One Plan' format and would review plans within one year and every three years and audit them. DOT would fund a study of the 20 most-blocked highway-rail crossings in at least 10 States and deliver recommendations to Congress within two years, using up to $2,000,000 of unobligated FY2024 funds.
Stronger rail inspection workforce and rules
If enacted, the DOT Inspector General would review FRA safety culture and inspector staffing using an international framework and report to Congress within one year; the Secretary would post an action plan within one year after that report. The Secretary must begin audits of inspection compliance within 60 days. DOT would require Class I railroads to identify pre-departure inspection sites within 120 days and use designated inspectors, protect the time employees need to complete inspections, require additional daily locomotive inspections within one year, and set minimum periodic freight-car inspection timing and inspector qualifications.
Hazmat preparedness funding, fees, help
If enacted, the Treasury would host a Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) Fund that the Transportation Secretary could use without more appropriations for grants, technical help, and an emergency response guide. The bill would expand HMEP grant uses and require States to pass at least 70% of grant value to local eligible entities within 180 days. The bill would create an emergency response assistance program that could release up to $10,000,000 immediately after a qualifying incident and reimburse baseline health checks up to $1,000 per person. The Transportation Secretary would set annual registration fees for hazardous materials registrants (small businesses $250–$500; others $500–$5,000), and transfers and some fee revenue would be set aside until the Fund reaches $50,000,000 (restarting if the balance falls below $20,000,000).
Funding for safer tank car research
If enacted, the bill would authorize $5,000,000 to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to pay for research and development to make tank cars, tank car valves, and other tank car safety features stronger and safer. The authorization would be available upon enactment.
Removal of two obsolete rail sections
If enacted, the bill would strike sections 21302 and 21303 from chapter 213 of title 49 and would update the chapter analysis to remove those entries. The practical effects would depend on the content of the removed provisions.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Husted, Jon [R-OH]
OH • R
Cosponsors
Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA]
WA • D
Sponsored 2/24/2026
Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS]
KS • R
Sponsored 2/24/2026
Sen. Schmitt, Eric [R-MO]
MO • R
Sponsored 2/24/2026
Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
WI • D
Sponsored 2/24/2026
Amy Klobuchar
MN • D
Sponsored 2/24/2026
Sen. Moreno, Bernie [R-OH]
OH • R
Sponsored 2/24/2026
Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA]
PA • D
Sponsored 2/24/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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