Conservative Legislators are Proposing to cut down on rail safety inspections

Even with all of the railway accidents that have occurred this year, such as the disastrous one in Ohio, the Republican Party legislators on Capitol Hill want to drastically reduce the number of railway safety inspections. HOW does that help? Here's the story:

(Photo: Ohio derailment. Credit: CBS News) 

Rep. Pingree says Republicans are proposing to cut down on rail safety inspections

by Stephanie Grindley, WGME

Tue, May 23rd 2023, 10:26 PM EDT 

 (WGME) – Train safety is in the spotlight in Maine and across the country.

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree says House Republicans are now proposing a bill that would cut down on rail safety inspections.

This is just a month after a train derailed in the Moosehead Lake region.

The U.S. Department of Transportation says the Republicans' budget would result in 7,500 fewer rail safety inspection days.

The proposal comes just three months after a train carrying toxic chemicals in Ohio derailed.

Federal and state officials, concerned the cars would explode, set them on fire, which sent toxic plumes into the air and killed fish in nearby streams.

Last month, a train derailed near Moosehead Lake, Maine and burst into flames, sparking a brush fire.

While the company previously said there was no threat to the public, the DEP issued a statement saying the railroad failed to drain the tanks of diesel fuel before lifting them from the tracks.

Pingree says the Republicans' bill would lead to 40 fewer rail safety inspections and 400 fewer miles of track inspected in Maine next year alone.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in Maine, prompted by the Moosehead Lake derailment, have been pushing for heightened safety in recent days, hoping to repeal a law that currently stops the public from knowing what hazardous materials travel by freight in the state.