Bill · H.R. 928· House(119-HR-928)
Railway Safety Act of 2025
- Introduced
- 2/4/2025
- Last activity
- 2/4/2025 — Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
- Sponsored by
- Christopher Deluzio
- Cosponsors
- - 5 - 6
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Railway Safety Act of 2025 aims to enhance safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials. It directs the Secretary of Transportation to implement new regulations regarding train operations, maintenance, and notifications to emergency responders. The bill mandates stricter rail car inspections, requires the installation and maintenance of wayside defect detectors, and establishes minimum crew size standards. Additionally, it increases maximum civil penalties for safety violations and mandates a phase-out of certain older tank cars. The Act also provides for increased funding for first responder training and infrastructure improvements.
Yes· 3 of 9
Does this better protect air, water and wildlife?+7
The bill mitigates environmental hazards by requiring safer tank cars and better detector technology for hazardous materials.
Would union members be better off under this?+6
The bill mandates 2-person crews and increases safety through more rigorous inspections.
Does this improve help for people hit by a disaster?+5
The bill increases funding and training for local first responders to handle hazardous material incidents.
The opposite
Would business owners be better off under this?-4
Railroad companies face increased operational costs, higher penalties, and new fees.
Does this raise the taxes companies pay?-2
The bill imposes a new $1,000,000 annual fee on Class I rail carriers.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Enhanced Emergency Preparedness: Shippers and rail carriers must provide advance notification and written gas discharge plans to State or Tribal emergency response agencies (Section 3(b)).
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Improved Inspection Standards: The bill requires the Secretary to establish minimum time requirements for qualified mechanical inspectors and ensure all relevant rail cars are inspected at set intervals (Section 4(a)).
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Prevention of Derailments: The mandate for wayside defect detectors, including hotbox detectors every 10 miles for Class I railroads, aims to prevent derailments caused by wheel bearing failures (Section 5(b)).
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Increased Crew Safety: The Safe Freight Act of 2025 requires a minimum 2-person crew for many freight trains, including those transporting high volumes of hazardous materials (Section 6(a) and (c)).
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Stronger Accountability: The bill increases maximum civil penalties for violations of rail safety regulations, linking fines to a percentage of a person's or company's annual income or operating income (Section 7).
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Upgraded Equipment: The act mandates that beginning May 1, 2027, certain tank cars (DOT-111) can no longer be used to transport Class 3 flammable liquids (Section 8(a)).
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Better Training for First Responders: The bill increases supplemental training grants and utilizes fees collected from Class I rail carriers to fund local emergency response training (Section 9).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Increased Operational Burdens for Small Railroads: Certain exceptions for crew size requirements do not apply to railroads with fewer than 400,000 employee work hours and less than $40,000,000 in annual revenue (Section 6(b)(2)).
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New Financial Obligations for Rail Carriers: Class I rail carriers will be required to pay an annual fee of $1,000,000 to the Secretary (Section 9(a)).
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Mandatory Equipment Upgrades: Rail carriers are prohibited from using DOT-111 specification tank cars for Class 3 flammable liquids after May 1, 2027 (Section 8(a)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Improves Environmental Protections+7Improves Disaster Relief And F E M A+5
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+5Increases Federal Power+4
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Union Workers+6Good For Native Americans+5Good For Business Owners-4
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Consumer Protection+5Improves Union Protections+3Increases Corporate Taxes-2
- Education And Technology
- Increases Scientific Research Funding+3
- 3/4/2026
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 11/19/2025
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 8/1/2025
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 3/14/2025
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 2/4/2025
- Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
- 3 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in House
Robert BresnahanRepublican · Pennsylvania
Sarah ElfrethDemocrat · Maryland
Brian FitzpatrickRepublican · Pennsylvania
John GaramendiDemocrat · California
Nick LaLotaRepublican · New York
Michael LawlerRepublican · New York
Eleanor NortonDemocrat · District of Columbia
Michael RulliRepublican · Ohio
Christopher SmithRepublican · New Jersey
Darren SotoDemocrat · Florida
Thomas SuozziDemocrat · New York