The Obama administration announced Thursday that it will roll back safety rules for railroad lines that don't carry passengers or dangerous cargo.
After a train wreck killed 25 people in Southern California in 2008, Congress required railroad companies to install systems to automatically put on the brakes to avoid a collision. Industry groups pushed hard to have the rules relaxed, enlisting support from key Republicans and within the Obama administration, which has been eager to blunt claims that it has added unnecessary regulations on industry.
The environmental reporting group FairWarning has a full story on today's change.
FairWarning reported here on Open Channel in January on rail industry lobbying to relax the rules.
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