# Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2024
This comprehensive bill strengthens railroad safety rules and hazardous materials emergency response, affecting freight railroads, shippers, emergency responders, and communities near rail lines.
**Key Safety Requirements:** Railroads must limit train speeds to 50 mph for most trains and 40 mph for high-hazard flammable liquid trains in populated areas. Freight trains on major routes must operate with two-person crews (conductor and engineer). Railroads must install wayside defect detection systems to identify equipment problems before they cause accidents. All Class I railroads transporting hazardous materials must share real-time train composition data with emergency responders and fusion centers.
**Tank Car Standards:** Beginning December 31, 2027, railroads can only use stronger, newer tank cars (DOT-117 standards or retrofitted versions) to transport flammable liquids, with a possible one-year delay if manufacturing capacity is insufficient.
**Inspection and Oversight:** The bill requires inspectors adequate time to properly inspect railcars and locomotives, mandates additional daily inspections on major railroads, and initiates regular audits of all Class I railroads' inspection practices.
**Emergency Response Support:** The bill establishes a $50 million emergency fund to reimburse communities for costs responding to major hazardous materials incidents, increases hazardous materials training grant funding, and requires emergency response gap analyses.
**Funding:** The bill authorizes $1.5 billion annually for railroad crossing elimination grants, $22 million for safety research, and millions more for telematics systems and emergency preparedness training through fiscal year 2028.
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