PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 284.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 1, 2023
Railway Safety Act of 2023
This bill addresses safety requirements for rail carriers and trains transporting hazardous materials.
Specifically, the Department of Transportation (DOT) must issue safety regulations for trains carrying hazardous materials to require that rail carriers or shippers (1) provide state emergency response commissioners with advanced notice and information about the hazardous materials; (2) reduce blocked rail crossings; and (3) comply with certain requirements regarding train length and weight specifications, track standards, speed restrictions, and response plans.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
DOT must also establish requirements for wayside defect detectors. These are used by railway systems alongside the tracks to detect defects and failures (e.g., wheel bearing failures). Current federal regulations do not require their use, but federal guidance does address their placement and use. Under the bill, DOT must issue regulations establishing requirements for the installation, repair, testing, maintenance, and operation of wayside defect detectors for each rail carrier operating a train carrying hazardous materials.
The bill also
increases the maximum fines DOT may impose on rail carriers for violating safety regulations,
requires DOT to update rail car inspection regulations and audit the federal inspection program,
requires a minimum two-person crew for certain freight trains,
phases out certain railroad tank cars by May 1, 2025 (four years sooner than required under current law),
expands training for local first responders,
imposes a new fee on certain rail carriers, and
provides funding for research and development to improve railway safety.
People & committees
Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] · D–OH
Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] · D–OH
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 284.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cantwell with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cantwell with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 118-361.
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.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.576 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.576 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.576 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.576 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.