US Sen. Sherrod Brown visits Sandusky train derailment site

SANDUSKY, Ohio (WOIO) - U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) will visit Sandusky Thursday as he continues to promote the passage of the Railway Safety Act.

He will be joined by rail union workers and local officials, according to a news release, and will tour the site of an October 2022 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train.

The train derailment of 21 cars took place Oct. 8, spilling paraffin wax and prompting power outages.

Several of those rail cars jumped the tracks, and plunged over the Columbus Avenue overpass, crashing down to the street below.

The wax hardened after leaking out, and though some spread to the city sewer system, officials deemed it not dangerous.

Brown’s office said the southbound lanes of Columbus Avenue are still closed, and northbound traffic reopened in February.

Brown is one of many Northeast Ohio lawmakers calling for stricter regulations of railways in wake of the Feb. 3 toxic train derailment in East Palestine.

Several days after the derailment, there was a controlled explosion of the five railroad cars carrying the chemical vinyl chloride.

While there are reports of illness by people living in the East Palestine area, federal and state officials continue to test the air quality and water.

According to the news release, if passed, Brown’s legislation would require:

• two-person crews on trains
• increase training
• make rail carriers pay for wrongdoing
• enhance safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials
• support communities impacted by rail disasters

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