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      Cleanup workers gather in East Palestine, Ohio.

      'Free-Market Dogma' Creates Disasters from East Palestine to Ukraine

      How Wall Street's drive to financialize every aspect of the economy has derailed trains, harmed health care, bottle-necked supply chains, and made it harder for the U.S. military to aid its allies.

      Mike Lofgren
      Apr 19, 2023

      By now everyone is familiar with the derailment of Norfolk Southern (NS) freight train 32N on February 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. After a nearly two-mile long train carrying toxic chemicals derailed, a controlled burn of the chemicals in several railcars resulted in the release of noxious gases into the air. These included phosgene, a substance used in gas warfare in World War I. After many days of contradictory explanations, foot-dragging, and buck-passing, the railroad and all levels of government finally conceded the seriousness of the incident.

      What caused the derailment? Twenty miles from the accident site, a third-party security camera spotted fire underneath one of the NS railcars. This raises the question: Why didn't the railroad's own wayside hotbox detectors already see the problem and alert the crew? The train crew eventually did receive a warning and applied the brakes just before East Palestine–but it was too late. According to a railroad union spokesman, the braking action, combined with too many heavy cars at the back of a very long train, could have caused an accordion effect leading to a catastrophic derailment.

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      Opinion
      economy
      This video screenshot released by the NTSB shows the site of a derailed freight train in East Palestine

      Two Years Later, Biden Has Yet to Appoint Key Safety Regulator at DOT

      Despite all of the media attention on the horrible derailment in East Palestine, Ohio there has been little attention on the leaderless agency tasked with preventing such disasters.

      Dylan Gyauch-Lewis
      Apr 08, 2023

      More than halfway through President Biden’s term, there remain numerous critical appointed positions across the executive branch that remain empty. My colleagues have writtenextensivelyabout the scope of this confirmation crisis. Some notable remaining vacancies include a seat on the Federal Communications Commission, around two dozen US Attorneys, and a seat on the National Transportation Safety Board. While much of this is due to obstruction by Senate Republicans, the importance of advancing good nominees remains. The fixes to the procedural delays are beyond Biden’s control (though not necessarily beyond Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s). But fighting to get the right people into positions of authority is still a top priority. As the mantra goes: personnel is policy.

      But there is one critical, if low-profile, position that has not had a nominee at all: administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA). Interestingly, despite all of the media attention on the horrible February derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, OH — including increased coverage of the response effort from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of Transportation (DOT) — there has been little attention on PHMSA itself.

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      Opinion
      railway safety
      Canadian Pacific train

      The Last Thing the Railway Industry Needs Is Another Giant Merger

      The only win if Canadian Pacific acquires Kansas City Southern is for freight rail's hedge fund investors, who are squeezing operating cash out of these railroads at the expense of workers, community safety, and the overall economy.

      David Segal
      Apr 07, 2023

      On March 15th, the Surface Transportation Board (STB)—the federal agency that regulates the U.S. freight rail industry—gave final approval to the acquisition of Kansas City Southern by Canadian Pacific. Approving this merger between America's sixth- and seventh-largest railroads was a dire mistake, which will have enormous economic and social costs that resound for decades.

      In a nation committed to a competitive market, in a sector that's already as consolidated as American freight rail, it's important to evaluate mergers very carefully, because once big companies absorb smaller ones, it becomes impossible to pull them apart again. And as economics researcher Eric Peinert of the American Economic Liberties Project puts it, "Nothing in the history of rail consolidation suggests this particular merger is a good idea."

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      Opinion
      railway safety
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