Within the last year, a coal train derailed in the nation's capital and dumped tons of its load into the Anacostia River that runs through the heart of Washington, DC; had that train been shipping toxic gas, the resulting horrors would probably still be leading our newscasts.

Mainline routes through major U.S. cities annually carry more than 110,000 shipments of poison gas railcars. In many cases these shipments could be easily re-routed and are not, so railroads and chemical shippers are in effect recklessly pre-positioning these cargoes for potential derailment or terrorist attack.

The new rule utilizes railroad-friendly regulatory techniques to ensure that virtually no protective re-routing will occur