A Bad Order for Rail
The Railway Safety Act would drag the industry backward by prioritizing unions over technology.
A bipartisan group of senators recently reintroduced the Railway Safety Act (RSA), a union-backed measure once championed by the Biden administration. Stalled by congressional Republicans when it was introduced in 2023, the bill is now attracting some support within the party. Earlier this month, the Department of Transportation under President Trump called on Congress to pass the RSA.
If it does, consumers should brace for higher prices on all kinds of merchandise. Behind the bill’s safety branding lies a Big Labor wish list that would increase supply-chain costs while doing little to reduce rail accidents — which have already been falling for years, largely thanks to technology. It’s no accident that the RSA has drawn criticism from a long list of free market groups.
First proposed in the aftermath of the 2023 East Palestine derailment, the bill is a textbook example of what’s now referred to as Rahm’s Rule, after President Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel: Never let a crisis go to waste. Touted as a common-sense safety fix, the RSA wouldn’t have stopped the East Palestine derailment. It can’t be counted on to prevent the next disaster, either. Consider the bill’s signature mandate that major freight carriers operate with at least a two-person crew. Crew size wasn’t the problem in East Palestine. The train that derailed had three crew members onboard.
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