Railroads like the one involved in last month's fiery crash and toxic chemical release in East Palestine would be subject to a series of new federal safety regulations under bipartisan legislation introduced Wednesday by the state's two U.S. senators. But even before Congress acts, regulators plan to step up inspections of the tracks that carry the most hazardous materials. The Railway Safety Act of 2023, co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and JD Vance, a Democrat and Republican, respectively, and four others of both parties, responds to the fiery derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train in East Palestine, in northeast Ohio near the Pennsylvania border, on Feb. 3, when 38 cars derailed and several carrying hazardous materials burned. Though no one was injured or killed, the accident and its aftermath imperiled the entire village and nearby neighborhoods in both states. It prompted an evacuation of about half the town's roughly 5,000 residents, an ongoing multigovernmental emergency response and lingering worries among villagers of long-term health impacts. The administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, Amit Bose, said Wednesday that his agency is going to focus the inspections it does on routes that carry more of the dangerous chemicals railroads routinely haul, starting in East Palestine. Federal inspectors checked out roughly 180,000 miles of track nationwide last year with a combination of automated inspection vehicles and human inspections. That number is expected to increase this year with this program. “I fully recognize this derailment continues to upend daily lives. The needs of East Palestine and the rail safety needs of all communities is at the top of my mind,” Bose said. “The U.S. Department of Transportation will continue to use our tools to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for the derailment and to improve freight rail safety across the country.” The Senate bill aims to address several key regulatory questions that have arisen from the disaster, including why the state of Ohio was not made aware the hazardous load was coming through and why the crew didn't learn sooner of an impending equipment malfunction. The proposals echo much of what Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called for last week. “Through this legislation, Congress has a real opportunity to ensure that what happened in East Palestine will never happen again,” Vance said in a statement. “We owe every American the peace of mind that their community is protected from a catastrophe of this kind.” Marisa Saenz reports: https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/ohio/ohio-senators-rail-safety-bill/530-eeea51d1-5b5c-448f-a85d-eb15abb6a2f7 -- At 3News, we’re not here to tell you the news, we’re here to share the stories that you say matter most to you. Share your ideas, thoughts, concerns and engage in conversations about the communities in which we all call home. Follow 3News on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wkyc.channel3/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/wkyc Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wkyc3/ Visit our site: https://www.wkyc.com/ And be sure to download our app here: https://wkyc.com/app