Part of me wonders what could be done beyond just train lengths. I think train consists should be forbidden from carrying more than a certain amount of different chemicals.
It's not just a matter of train lengths. Europe and China see far less derailments than the USA by several orders of magnitude and it's because they actually have safety laws around how these things can be used and what equipment trains need to have. Like brakes that work. And unions that give rail workers more than 90 seconds per car to inspect for issues. And regular maintenance.
Part of me wonders what could be done beyond just train lengths. I think train consists should be forbidden from carrying more than a certain amount of different chemicals.
It's not just a matter of train lengths. Europe and China see far less derailments than the USA by several orders of magnitude and it's because they actually have safety laws around how these things can be used and what equipment trains need to have. Like brakes that work. And unions that give rail workers more than 90 seconds per car to inspect for issues. And regular maintenance.
That's functionally the rule they had, before they rolled it back