New Railroad Safety Enhancement Act Builds Momentum

This week marks a turning point in the fight for meaningful rail safety reform.

Representatives Troy E. Nehls (R-TX-22) and Seth Moulton (D-MA-06) have introduced the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2026 in the U.S. House of Representatives. This bipartisan proposal aims to strengthen the push already underway in the Senate.

Just days ago, the Railway Safety Act of 2026 was introduced in the Senate with bipartisan backing. SMART-TD supported that measure and is excited to see the Senate making a serious effort to address the safety failures exposed by the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Now, with comprehensive legislation moving in both chambers, rail safety reform has real, bipartisan momentum for the first time in years.

A Shared Framework for Safety

While the Senate bill establishes important guardrails, the House’s Railroad Safety Enhancement Act sharpens key operational and enforcement provisions in ways that reflect the lived experience of railroaders. The House bill and the Senate bill share a lot of similarities, which is encouraging: it’s good to see these key issues being recognized by multiple legislators.

Among the issues both bills address is codifying a two-person crew (2-PC) requirement in federal law. SMART-TD has long maintained that a federal statute (not a reversible rule or regulation) is essential to ensure consistent, nationwide protection for crews and communities.

Both pieces of legislation also address the dangerous trend of excessive train length. They require enhanced reporting on train length and trailing tonnage in accidents and direct regulators to evaluate and update safety rules tied to additional train length and weight. For the first time, the issue of ultra-long trains is firmly embedded in federal lawmaking.

Inspection standards also get significant attention in both versions. The bills prohibit railroads from limiting the time necessary to complete safety inspections, strengthen freight car inspection requirements, mandate additional locomotive inspections by qualified mechanical inspectors, and establish structured audits to ensure compliance. These measures respond directly to growing pressure on frontline workers to move trains at the expense of thorough safety checks.

The bills further establish enforceable, performance-based standards for defect detection systems, ensuring that technology is deployed properly and backed by accountability. They also raise maximum civil penalties, up to $5 million in cases involving death or serious harm, reinforcing that safety violations must carry meaningful consequences.

Together, these provisions signal a shift away from the voluntary compliance the railroads have become all too used to, and toward enforceable safety standards.

The “Enhancement” Part of the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act

There are a handful of policies that set this bill from Nehls and Moulton apart from the RSA in the Senate. Three of the largest differences are all issues that SMART-TD has been fighting to achieve for quite a long time. We are more than happy to endorse these and are excited to see them acknowledged in the legislative process.

• C3RS:  Under this bill, all Class I Railroads will have to join the FRA and NASA’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System.
• The infrastructure supporting the ASKRAIL app will expand into rural areas to inform first responders of hazmat placement on our trains.
• Funding will be added to eliminate additional dangerous rail crossings across the country

Three Years of Relentless Advocacy

Since East Palestine, SMART-TD’s Safety and Legislative Department has worked tirelessly on Capitol Hill. Our State Legislative Directors have done the same in State Houses across the country.

Progress has been uneven. In a post-East Palestine environment, rail safety proposals have advanced, stalled, and re-emerged in different forms. All too often, outdated industry narratives have competed with the real-world experiences of railroad workers.

Meanwhile, our members have continued operating longer trains under tighter schedules with shrinking margins for error.

Your frustration has been growing just as fast as your car counts. And they are absolutely justified.

SMART-TD’s goal has remained constant: a comprehensive federal rail safety law that protects railroad workers and the communities we serve, from sea to shining sea. Not a patchwork of state standards. Not temporary regulatory shifts. A binding federal law.

With legislation now advancing in both the House and Senate, that goal feels closer than it has in years.

This Is the Moment to Act

Bills do not become law because they are introduced. They become law because people demand action.

SMART-TD is closely tracking both measures and will continue engaging lawmakers to ensure that final legislation reflects your 24/7 reality, not corporate spin.

Rail Labor, the AAR, and the suits at the railroads are all in line to compete for the attention of Washington D.C. But elected officials listen most closely to the people who elect them, and can change their minds every two years.

A railroader speaking as both a constituent and a subject-matter expert carries weight that no lobbyist can replicate.

In the coming weeks, we will ask you to contact your Representatives and Senators. Share your experience. Explain what extreme train length means in practice. Make clear why two-person crews are essential. Describe the pressures that affect inspection integrity. Let them know that defect detectors are not supposed to be suggestions.

After three years of persistence, rail safety reform has gained unprecedented momentum.

Credit Where It’s Due

SMART-TD as an organization, and every rail member we have in our ranks, is thankful to Congressmen Troy Nehls and Seth Moulton, but being thankful doesn’t move the needle. Let’s do more than thank these men and those who stand with them in this effort. We need to help them finish the job!

Generational change in our industry is within our reach. Together, let’s make it law.