Fiery derailments renew Americans’ focus on railroad safety

By JOSH FUNK
Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Americans are focusing more on railroad safety after two recent fiery derailments in Ohio last month and in Minnesota this week. Both prompted evacuations. The derailments have prompted federal regulators and members of Congress to propose a number of safety reforms. They may expand regulations for transporting hazardous materials to more trains and consider setting standards for the trackside detectors railroads use to help identify equipment problems before they can cause derailments. But railroads have a long history of resisting new regulations. The railroads do have a good record overall of delivering hazardous materials safely but as the recent derailments show, even one crash involving dangerous chemicals can be disastrous.