U.S. senator asks railroad CEOs to answer questions on hazardous shipments

[February 18, 2023]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell said on Friday she was opening an inquiry into railroad hazardous materials safety practices after a Feb. 3 Ohio derailment of a train operated by Norfolk Southern raised new concerns. 

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) speaks during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing on President Biden's proposed budget request for the Department of Transportation, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 3, 2022. REUTERS/Michael A. McCoy

Cantwell wrote the chief executives of Norfolk Southern, Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, CSX, Kansas City Southern, and Union Pacific seeking information to help determine how to improve safety.

"Every railroad must reexamine its hazardous materials safety practices to better protect its employees, the environment, and American families and reaffirm safety as a top priority," Cantwell wrote.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sandra Maler)

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.