In Syracuse stop, Schumer outlines railway-safety measure after Ohio train derailment

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) on Monday launched a two-part plan to get railroads to “increase transparency” and boost rail safety.

The plan also involved an effort to “demand answers” on the steps railroads are taking to keep Syracuse and upstate New York communities safe amid growing concern from national rail accidents.

Schumer announced the plan during a Monday morning visit to Syracuse’s Armory Square area near the elevated railroad tracks. Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon; Sharon Owens, deputy mayor of the City of Syracuse; Onondaga County Department of Emergency Management Commissioner Daniel Wears; and representatives from the Syracuse Fire Department joined Schumer for the announcement.

It follows the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Schumer said. It “focuses a spotlight on the need for serious reforms” in how railroads communicate with local communities, and the steps they are taking to stop “preventable” accidents like this from happening in places like Syracuse, Schumer’s office said.

First, the senator revealed a letter to the major railroad companies demanding answers on the actions they are taking to prevent an accident, like what happened in Ohio, from occurring in upstate New York.

Second, the Democrat said he is “guiding the Senate to move full steam ahead” and support the new bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023, per a Monday news release. It would create new rail-safety protocols; hold railroads “accountable for malfeasance,” and increase transparency of trains carrying hazardous materials in places like Syracuse and across America.

“Because we’re such a hub of rail activity, we have to be particularly vigilant here in upstate New York and Central New York about what’s happening,” Schumer said in his remarks in Armory Square. “The tracks behind me regularly carry trains with hazardous material. The disaster in Ohio should be a canary in the coal mine, a loud warning whistle that I’ve been sounding for a long time here in Central New York on dangerous railroad-safety hazards which demand immediate action. So, that’s why I’m here with our first responders to launch a two-track plan to increase transparency and boost rail safety for upstate New York.”

In his letter to Norfolk Southern, CSX, and the other major railroads, Schumer demanded that the companies outline the steps they are taking to improve rail safety and better communicate notifications to all levels of government to ensure a preventable tragedy like Ohio’s never happens again.