Railroads say they’re making safety changes to reduce derailments after fiery Ohio crash

By JOSH FUNK
Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The major freight railroads all promised safety improvements after the fiery derailment in eastern Ohio a year ago, but they have yet to make meaningful safety improvements and reform efforts have stalled in Congress. A few key measures in the latest Federal Railroad Administration statistics, including the total number of train accidents, worsened last year while other numbers like total derailments improved a bit. The East Palestine, Ohio, derailment demonstrated that just one event can be disastrous when hazardous chemicals are involved. The small town near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border is still struggling to recover.