EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Walking along the railroad tracks near East Clark Street in this Columbiana County village, it is hard to imagine the destruction that happened here three years ago.
For people who didn’t call this village home, the long, short whistle sounds of an oncoming train in the distance might sound nostalgic. It’s that way in many cities and towns across the country where the roads cross the tracks.
The main rail line here runs parallel to East Taggert Street, one of the primary routes through the center of the village, and intersects with North Pleasant Drive and South Market Street.
In February of 2023, that nostalgia turned into terror when a loud and fiery derailment turned life here upside down. A Norfolk Southern train came roaring through the town of Salem, more than 20 miles away. Undetected until much later, a video showed the wheels of the 23rd car in the train burning orange and heading straight for this town.
Later, after multiple investigations, a report would show that an overheated wheel bearing caused the fire.
By 9:00 p.m., life there had changed when 38 of the twin cars derailed, causing flames to shoot up into the sky. Sirens from volunteer fire companies wailed in all directions as a plume of smoke rose straight up in the sky.
Within days, authorities knew that some of the burning cars contained vinyl chloride. They were given two options: risk a catastrophic explosion that would shower shrapnel in all directions for miles, or a controlled burn, which was considered the least bad option.
Within weeks, then-Ohio Sens. JD Vance, a Republican, and Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, introduced the bipartisan Railway Safety Act in the U.S. Senate. At the same time, Western Pennsylvania Reps. Chris Deluzio, a Democrat, and Nick LaLota, a Republican, introduced a House bill to make freight rail safer by strengthening hazardous material oversight and improving rail safety standards.
At that time, then-President Joe Biden and then-former President Donald Trump threw their support behind it, as well. For Trump, the event became his political inflection point. In January 2023, he was down in the first primary poll issued for New Hampshire, trailing Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). But those poll numbers swiftly turned after he showed up here in an overcoat and galoshes, walking through sleet and mud and telling the people here that he hears them and will never forget them.
It was a visit that Biden failed to make for over a year, and an issue that Biden dismissed, failing to address it for weeks.
The bill languished due to intense lobbying from the freight rail industry, along with free-market lawmakers who argued that the two-person train crews that were part of the act were a means to serve the unions and prevent technological innovation.
The Association of American Railroads called it a “solution in search of a problem,” noting that many of the bill’s regulations were unrelated to the defective wheel bearing that caused the 2023 Norfolk Southern accident. But this completely missed the larger point: most Americans live within miles, often feet, from a railroad track. An overhaul of the safety regulations was long past due.
Because the majority of towns and cities were intentionally developed around the robust growth of rail networks, millions of Americans, whether in small or medium-sized towns or sprawling cities, live within a mile of a railroad track and near commerce, including flammable chemicals that travel by rail.
The legislation is unique in that it still holds robust support across the political spectrum in the current Congress. Vance is now vice president, and Brown lost his reelection bid in 2024. The Railway Safety Act of 2026 is still sponsored by an Ohio Republican, this time Sen. Jon Husted. And its companion in the House is still sponsored by Deluzio.
Two days ago, Trump took to Truth Social, saying, “I am, therefore, strongly urging Congress to include the Railway Safety Act, which I strongly endorsed in 2023, in the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill. I am asking all Republicans to vote YES when this Bill comes up as an Amendment in the Transportation Committee this week.”
Trump, in an exclusive with the Washington Examiner, announced in February that his administration is providing $10 million to the village through the Economic Development Administration to aid the community’s recovery.
At the time that the announcement was made, Mayor Trent Conaway said that it was the result of a joint effort that included Vance and Ohio Sens. Bernie Moreno (R) and Husted.
“Trump has been the champion of the little guy. I think that is something that is often missed,” said Conaway.
Deluzio, who has been tireless in this effort, said he has been working with the administration to get this done, and not just for the people of East Palestine and Beaver County, Pennsylvania, who were also economically and emotionally affected, but because it is something that can happen to so many other communities.
Deluzio, like Trump and Vance, understands that our nation’s expansive 140,000-mile freight network makes both our highly populated areas and rural towns vulnerable. In fact, nearly every American town with a population over 2,000 is directly connected to, or near, a railroad track. They are our lifeblood, and our association with them, both culturally and economically, is forever intertwined.
Folks in East Palestine loved the sound of the whistles before the derailment. It was part of their place, their home, and a connection to providing space for the economy to chug along. Now, for many, it is dreadful.
Deluzio was clearly elated yesterday when the bill finally got out of committee. “I am thrilled that we passed my Railway Safety Act out of committee today,” he told the Washington Examiner of reaching the milestone after a three-year process. “The people of Beaver County and East Palestine have waited long enough.”
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“A lot of folks worked hard to get here today, and this would not have happened without a strong coalition of affected residents, Democrats, Republicans, and labor, and the White House,” he said.
One thing left to do: “Congress must get this passed and sent to the president to be signed,” Deluzio said.