PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 29, 2023
Railway Accountability Act
This bill addresses safety requirements for rail carriers.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) must review existing regulations relating to the practices regarding the establishment of a train consist (i.e., the contents and location of each rail car in a train). The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) must issue regulations requiring each railroad to submit an updated Risk Reduction Program Plan that (1) documents the railroad's standards for train consist and safety protocol for trains in the switchyard, and (2) strives to balance derailment risk and rail yard employee safety.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
DOT must issue a regulation that prohibits conducting train brake inspections while a train is in motion and requires the mechanical inspector assigned to inspect a locomotive or rail car to be the official who signs off on the inspection.
The FRA must amend regulations to require (1) more frequent communication checks between a head-of-train device and an end-of-train device, and (2) repetition of the emergency brake signal transmission until it is received by the end-of-train device.
Class I railroads must join the Confidential Close Call Reporting System if they have been ordered to pay the maximum civil penalty for specific rail safety regulation violations.
Further, the FRA must (1) study and submit a report to Congress on broken rim derailments and proposed regulations to reduce the frequency; and (2) post on the FRA public website a list of specific active Class I railroad safety waivers, including those relating to brake procedures and brake inspection requirements.
People & committees
Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] · D–PA
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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