During an interview with NewsNation on Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment, the Department of Transportation is doing “a stepped-up inspection program for routes where certain kinds of hazardous trains travel” and that the program is “a chance to send a message about the rigor that we expect and the safety standards that we expect.”
Nexstar Washington Correspondent Reshad Hudson asked, “Is there anything your department can do in the immediate to sort of prevent this from happening in other communities across the country?”
Buttigieg answered, “Well, one thing we’re doing is a stepped-up inspection program for routes where certain kinds of hazardous trains travel, because I think that’s a chance to send a message about the rigor that we expect and the safety standards that we expect. But we’re also calling on railroads to take certain steps without us making them. Don’t get me wrong, we’re going to keep pushing on the regulation side. But they could act tomorrow, for example, to join a program we have where employees who experience a close call can report that safety information without fear of reprisal from their employer. That’s something that the railroads could do today and they should.”
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