InvestigateTV - Season 2; Episode 21

Published: May. 26, 2023 at 5:16 PM EDT
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(InvestigateTV) — This Week on InvestigateTV: Across the country trains are stopping for days, cutting off communities. Children climb between train cars to get to school. First responders can’t reach those in need of help. We speak to lawmakers and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, pushing for action. WHERE TO WATCH ICYMI – Watch last week’s episode.

Railroaded: Across America, trains are stopping on tracks and blocking roadways – sometimes for hours. In some cases, as our cameras caught on video, children are dangerously crossing stopped trains, crawling under the cars to get to and from school. In others, emergency responders are unable to quickly reach people in danger. In this story, we partner with ProPublica to look at the tens of thousands of complaints to the federal government about blocked crossings, talk to people in towns where trains frequently stop – plus question lawmakers and Transportation Secretary Buttigieg about what can be done.

Long Trains Pose Safety Concerns, Challenges: Railroads are a vital part of the history of the United States and its economy. More freight moves by rail than any other mode of transportation, passing through major cities and small communities. InvestigateTV partnered with ProPublica and KCTV to reveal the challenges communities face as trains get longer and longer.

Key Provisions Move Forward in Senate: Two critical provisions designed to protect children from stalled trains that block pathways to schools across the nation were successfully added to legislation making its way through the United States Senate. The provisions, introduced by Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock, (D-GA), were added into the Railway Safety Act of 2023.