Pete Buttigieg Visits East Palestine, Ohio to Assess Impact of Train Derailment and Investigate Safety of Rail Industry

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is set to visit East Palestine, Ohio on Thursday to view the site of a recent train derailment that caused a spill of toxic chemicals into the community. The incident has prompted a rare bipartisan agreement in Congress to press the Biden administration on whether there is sufficient oversight to keep rail workers and communities near railroads safe.

The derailment occurred on February 3rd and caused a fiery wreck that released toxic materials into the town. This has raised questions in Washington over the regulation of the rail industry and if stricter measures could have prevented the disaster.

Buttigieg is scheduled to meet with community members, receive an update from the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation, and hear from Transportation Department investigators who were on the ground in the hours after the derailment. The Transportation Department has stated that Buttigieg will use the visit to assess the safety of the rail industry and its impact on communities.

The derailment has sparked a conversation about the safety of the rail industry and the potential for stricter regulations to prevent similar disasters from occurring in the future. This conversation has been met with a rare, general bipartisan agreement about taking action in the rail industry.

The visit from Buttigieg is a sign that the Biden administration is taking the incident seriously and is looking for ways to ensure the safety of rail workers and communities near railroads. It is unclear at this time what action will be taken, but the visit is a step in the right direction towards finding a solution.