To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue certain regulations to define high-hazard flammable train, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Deluzio (for himself, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Doggett, Ms. Dean …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The DERAIL Act (Decreasing Emergency Railroad Accident Instances Locally Act) tightens safety rules for trains carrying dangerous materials. It expands the definition of "high-hazard flammable train" to include any train with even one tank car of flammable liquids or gases, down from the current threshold of 20 or more cars. The bill also requires railroad companies to report all toxic-by-inhalation materials to federal, state, local, and tribal authorities within 24 hours of any derailment.
Who Benefits and How
Communities living near railroad tracks benefit from stronger safety oversight and faster emergency response. State and local emergency responders gain mandatory access to information about what toxic materials were on a derailed train, helping them protect public health more effectively. Tribal governments receive explicit notification rights they may not have had before. Environmental and safety advocacy groups benefit from more trains being subject to stricter safety regulations, as the threshold drops from 20+ to just 1 tank car of hazardous materials.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Railroad companies face increased compliance costs and operational complexity. Many more trains will now be classified as "high-hazard," subjecting them to stricter safety protocols, speed restrictions, and routing requirements. Railroad operators must also implement new 24-hour reporting systems for derailments involving toxic materials, with potential legal liability for missed deadlines. The Department of Transportation faces additional rulemaking and enforcement responsibilities, requiring them to update federal regulations within 90 days.
Key Provisions
- Redefines "high-hazard flammable train" to mean any train carrying 1 or more loaded tank cars of Class 3 flammable liquid or Class 2 flammable gas (current rule requires 20+ cars)
- Requires Secretary of Transportation to issue new regulations implementing this definition within 90 days
- Mandates that railroad carriers report all toxic-by-inhalation materials to the National Response Center, state officials, local officials, and tribal governments within 24 hours of any derailment
- Creates new Section 20904 in Title 49 USC establishing this reporting requirement as federal law
- Ensures tribal governments receive the same hazardous material notifications as state and local governments
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
This bill strengthens railroad safety regulations by expanding the definition of high-hazard flammable trains to include trains with even a single tank car of flammable materials, and mandates 24-hour reporting of toxic-by-inhalation materials after train derailments.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Transportation
- "railroad_carrier"
- → Railroad companies operating freight trains
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A single train transporting 1 or more loaded tank cars of a Class 3 flammable liquid or a Class 2 flammable gas (expanding from previous threshold of 20+ cars)
Hazardous materials that pose inhalation hazards, requiring mandatory reporting after derailments
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology