Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday urged the National Transportation Safety Board to launch an investigation into safety practices of all seven major freight railroads, following the East Palestine, Ohio derailment.
The companies, in addition to Norfolk Southern, are BNSF Railway, CSX, Union Pacific, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and Kansas City Southern, Schumer said in a letter to the agency.
Schumer said that over the past five years, these freight rail companies have had "over 26,500 accidents and incidents and 2,768 deaths, all while cutting roughly 20% of their workforce."
On Feb. 3, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, resulting in the release of over 1 million gallons of harmful pollutants.
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