管道和危险品安全管理局（PHMSA）提出了一项新规定，要求铁路公司实时维护和更新有关危险品运输的信息，并将其提供给授权的应急响应人员。铁路公司还必须主动向当地授权的应急响应人员“推送”有关任何危险品事故的信息，PHMSA官员在新闻发布会上表示。

该规定旨在通过加强铁路公司向应急响应人员提供有关危险品信息的要求，提高公共安全并防止环境影响。PHMSA副局长特里斯坦·布朗表示：“对危险品运输的关键信息进行即时访问，再加上主动信息共享，将使应急响应人员在到达现场之前更好地准备好应对现场的风险。这将提高消防员和应急响应人员以及他们勇敢服务的社区的安全。”

拟议规则通知要求所有铁路公司生成危险品运输的实时列车信息的硬拷贝和电子版本。所需的信息将包括货物在火车上的数量和位置，货物的起点和终点以及铁路公司的指定紧急联系点。

PHMSA官员表示，该提案回应了联邦FAST法案、国家运输安全委员会的建议以及消防员响应2月3日俄亥俄州东巴勒斯坦诺福克南方铁路列车脱轨事故中所学到的教训。

与此同时，美铁昨天宣布，该铁路公司的11名高管均已签署了“Operation Lifesaver Inc.”的铁路安全承诺书。

签署者承诺要求路外人员在铁路轨道和火车附近保持安全距离。

OLI和美铁官员在一份联合新闻发布中表示，在美国，每三小时就有一个人或车辆被火车撞击。根据联邦铁路管理局的数据，擅自闯入铁路用地界是美国铁路相关死亡的主要原因，平交道口事故是次要原因。

美铁执行副总裁兼首席安全官史蒂夫·普雷德莫尔表示：“虽然我们每天都在努力为我们的客户、员工和社区提供安全的体验，但我们作为个人所能做的只有那么多。铁路安全需要团队的努力。随着我们不断成长，解决轨道事故的最佳资源将逐步汇聚到一起。”

PHMSA proposes rail hazmat safety rule; Amtrak signs safety pledge 

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has proposed a new rule that would require railroads to maintain and update in real time information about rail hazmat shipments in a train consist that would be accessible to authorized emergency response personnel.

Railroads would also be required to proactively “push” that information to authorized local first response personnel as soon as the railroad is aware of an accident involving any hazardous materials, PHMSA officials said in a press release.

The rule is aimed at improving public safety and preventing environmental impacts by strengthening requirements governing railroads’ provision of hazardous materials information to responders during a hazmat incident, they said.

"On-demand access to key information about hazmat shipments coupled with proactive information sharing will enable first responders to better prepare for the risks present at the scene of an incident before they arrive on scene," said PHMSA Deputy Administrator Tristan Brown. “This will improve safety for firefighters and first responders, and the communities they so courageously serve.”

The notice of proposed rulemaking would require all railroads to generate, in hard copy and electronic versions, real-time train consist information for shipments containing hazardous materials. Required information would include the quantity and position of the shipment on the train, the shipment’s origin and destination and a designated emergency point of contact at the railroad.

The proposal responds to congressional mandates in the federal FAST Act, a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation and lessons learned from firefighters responding to the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern Railway train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, PHMSA officials said.

Meanwhile, Amtrak announced yesterday that all 11 of the railroad’s executives have signed Operation Lifesaver Inc.’s rail safety pledge.

The pledge asks those who sign to challenge others to commit to staying safe near railroad tracks and trains.

Every three hours in the United States, a person or vehicle is hit by a train, OLI and Amtrak officials said in a joint press release. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, trespassing along railroad rights-of-way is the leading cause of rail-related deaths in America; railroad crossing incidents are the second leading cause.

"While we show up every day to deliver a safe experience for our customers, employees and communities, we can only do so much as individuals," said Amtrak Executive Vice President and Chief Safety Officer Steve Predmore. "Rail Safety is a team effort. As we continue to grow, the best resource to address track incidents is to come together as one."