KANSAS CITY, Mo. — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Monday pledged to hold American freight railroads to stricter standards in the wake of a train disaster in Ohio last month and Republican criticism of the Biden administration’s response.
Buttigieg, who attended several events around the Kansas City area on Monday, said the Biden White House had already been pushing for tighter regulations before the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio.
“There have been a lot of improvements for sure over the years, but the work is not yet done,” Buttigieg told The Star in an interview. “And I’m pressing the freight rail industry to drop their resistance and urging Congress to work with us no matter what the industry says to ensure that we have tougher, tighter, more effective standards, practices and rules so that every community living along a rail line knows that they’re going to be OK.”
