Reported by Ed Blazina for Pittsburgh Union Progress
In another effort to gain more control of the safety of the nation’s railroads, Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, are introducing legislation to require railroads to release inspections of their bridges.
Casey introduced the Rail Bridge Safety and Transparency Act in the Senate Friday to give the U.S. Department of Transportation more oversight of the 100,000 railroad bridges across the country. Lee plans to introduce a similar bill in the House in a few weeks.
The news release included pledges of support from labor groups such as the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes and the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO and mayors of municipalities such as Easton and Freedom that host rail lines. Local communities can only view inspection reports if federal officials approve releasing them.