| | | | |  | | By Kayla Guo and Tanya Snyder | | | | — Fallout from the Ohio train derailment continues this week with new rail safety promises from the Biden administration and a push from DOT for Congress and the railroads themselves to take action. — Lawmakers in both parties this week are calling for briefings and hearings on the derailment to get to the bottom of what happened and evaluate the federal response. — Norfolk Southern could face civil penalties, the Biden administration said, if it does not pay for the costs of the derailment cleanup. IT’S TUESDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. I’m your host, Kayla Guo. Send tips, thoughts and recipes you like to kguo@politico.com. Find us on Twitter @kaylaguo_,@alextdaugherty and @TSnyderDC. “Down around the corner / Half a mile from here / You see them long trains runnin' / And you watch them disappear.”
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| | | DOT CALLS FOR RAIL SAFETY CHANGES: DOT today is calling on Congress and railroads to step up efforts for rail safety in the wake of the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. It also pledged to issue new rules to enhance rail safety. DOT will take rulemaking back up on high-hazard flammable trains and electronically controlled pneumatic brakes. The agency also says also going to inspect hazmat train routes and examine those using older tank cars. DOT IS asking railroads to give states a heads-up when hazardous gas tank cars will be passing through, to protect safety whistleblowers, to deploy automated track inspection technology without asking to get rid of human inspectors, to start phasing in safer tank cars earlier than required – and to pay workers sick leave. DOT also wants Congress to increase maximum fines for rail safety violations among other items. Letter to Norfolk Southern: In a Sunday letter to Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw, DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg slammed Norfolk Southernfor spending more than twice as much — $18 billion over the last five years — on stock buybacks and dividends as it's "invested in its railways and operations.” He noted the railroad’s “exceptionally profitable business,” running a 38 percent operating margin. — In a Friday briefing for reporters, senior officials from DOT, EPA, HHS and other agencies sought to play up the work they are and have been doing since the derailment happened, in part to defend themselves against a surprisingly fierce storm of criticism, mostly but not entirely from conservative circles. QUEUE THE BRIEFINGS: Lawmakers from both parties have their eyes trained on East Palestine, Ohio. Portions of both chambers have called for briefings on the matter. The NTSB briefed members of the House Transportation Committee on Friday, and Commerce Chair Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) has called for one this week. — Cantwell has asked for a joint, staff-level briefing to take place for the Commerce and EPW committees on the derailment and the release of hazardous materials. She requested NTSB, FRA, EPA and PHMSA to appear and brief the committees on the ground-level situation, the status of the NTSB investigation into the episode and federal agencies’ response. —House T&I Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.) has said he plans a briefing before his committee, and EPW ranking member Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) has called for a hearing within the month. And Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) and House Energy and Commerce Chair Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) sent EPA chief Michael Regan, who visited the site last week, a letter looking for more answers. — Former President Donald Trump will be visiting East Palestine this week, according to a tweet from his son, Don Jr., in which he chided Buttigieg for not being the site himself, saying, "if our 'leaders' are too afraid to actually lead real leaders will step up and fill the void." Buttigieg said in response that “if people are going to find religion about rail regulation, sometimes for the first time, I welcome that."
| | | POSSIBLE CIVIL PENALTIES FOR NS: The Biden administration is considering civil penalties for Norfolk Southern, possibly along with a legally binding order to ensure the company pays for cleanup costs associated with the toxic derailment in Ohio on Feb. 3, senior officials said. The railroad has already pledged to pay for the costs of the cleanup, but officials said Friday that if it does not, the government would do it and charge Norfolk Southern three times the cost, Tanya reports. — Several officials Friday noted that previous disasters, such as the 2013 derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, of a runaway train carrying crude oil that caught fire and killed 47 people, had spurred regulatory and legislative action, and they were certain this would have a similar result. Some lawmakers, including Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), have already called for legislative and regulatory change in the aftermath of the episode. — The officials also disputed the criticism of what some see as a delayed response by the administration, in particular DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, noting that an evacuation order was in place early on and visits by high-ranking officials can create a distraction to crews working on the ground.
| | | FAMILY STICKS TOGETHER: United Airlines announced a new family seating policy Monday aimed at making it easier for children under 12 years old to sit next to an adult in their party at no additional cost. The airline unveiled a dynamic seat map tool that finds available adjacent seats at the time of booking and, when needed, offers available "preferred" seats in economy cabins for free. The policy, which will go into effect early next month, will also allow travelers to switch to a flight with adjacent-seat availability at no additional cost if required. — The change comes as the Biden administration has called on airlines to eliminate what it calls "junk fees," including costs families incur trying to sit together. While most major airlines don't specifically charge to seat children with adults, families can still rack up charges while looking to book adjacent seats, especially if there are none available in the cabin class they've selected. And since major airlines often match their competitors, keep an eye out for how other airlines will respond. PARTY BALLOON M.I.A.: The object shot down by American forces over the Yukon last weekend “could have been our balloon,” the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade hobby group told Matt Berg. For months, the group tracked its balloon — no different from a $10 to $15 party balloon — using an antenna attached to the craft and GPS to estimate where it was. But hundreds, if not thousands, of objects are floating in that jet stream at any given time, so no one can be sure what was shot down unless you “go through the Yukon and trudge through the snow,” the member said. — The U.S. can’t confirm reports that the balloon belongs to the club, NSC spokesperson John Kirby said Friday, adding that the U.S. stands by the decision to shoot down the three still unidentified aerial objects. The administration said they were believed to be a threat to civilian aircraft.
| | | EV CHARGERS FOR ALL: New public EV charging stations in California would have to be open to all EV brands and models under a proposal intended to help the state’s phasing-out of gas-powered vehicles. Assembly Bill 591, which would not cover private chargers, would require companies to include universal connectors on new publicly available charging stations and to install them when making upgrades or major repairs to existing stations. — The bill was introduced just before the White House announced a deal with Tesla to open up nearly half of the company’s chargers to other manufacturers in exchange for a share of subsidies to expand the national network. With electric car sales rapidly accelerating, a race is on to build enough charging stations to support growing demand, and the proposal aims to help expand the availability and accessibility of chargers to all Californians. LOW ON DRIVERS: The private motorcoach industry is facing a shortage of as many as 7,300 drivers, or 21.4 percent of its driver workforce, according to a recent survey of private bus companies conducted by the American Bus Association Foundation. Nearly half of survey respondents pointed to licensing delays, lack of available training, insurance issues, Covid fears and the broader labor force shortage as reasons for the shortfall. Just over a third said low wages, work schedules and competition from trucking companies and other operators were the primary culprits.
| | | Katy Ann Searcy is now chief of staff in the office of Infrastructure Implementation at the White House. She was most recently at USAID and has previously worked for Hillary Clinton, Cheryl Mills and Stripe. (West Wing Playbook) The Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure has tapped Benjamin Dierker as its next executive director. He was previously a researcher and public policy director with the alliance. (POLITICO Influence)
| | | — "‘My kids are being poisoned’: How aviators escaped America’s war on lead." POLITICO. — "Many in East Palestine, skeptical of official tests, seek out their own." The New York Times. — “Over 1,000 trains derail every year in America. Let’s bring that number down.” The New York Times. — "A deadly chemical was released in the Ohio train derailment. It should be banned." The New York Times. — ”A highway that doesn’t exist is strangling a Black neighborhood.” Bloomberg. — "Record 6,542 guns intercepted at US airport security in 2022." The Associated Press. — "Oakland airport, 50K in Bay Area lose power due to fire." The Associated Press. — “Air New Zealand passengers take 16-hour flight to nowhere.” The Washington Post.
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