U.S. rail operators use multi-mln PR campaign to push pack against tougher regulation: The Guardian

LONDON, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. rail operators have been using a years-long multi-billion PR campaign to push pack against tougher regulations, British newspaper The Guardian has revealed.

The report, published on Monday, came as a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed earlier this month in East Palestine, Ohio, causing an environmental disaster of still unknown proportions.

"The PR push is a window into a years-long, multimillion-dollar campaign by America's biggest railroad corporations to win favor among federal regulators and policymakers and push back against calls for tougher regulation -- a successful campaign that is coming under closer scrutiny following the Ohio disaster," said the report.

Between 2015 and 2022, the Association of American Railroads (AAR), the trade organization representing large train companies, spent more than 39.4 million U.S. dollars lobbying the federal government, said the report, citing data compiled by the non-profit OpenSecrets.

The AAR and its dues-paying members, who include Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, BNSF and CSX, have also made millions of dollars' worth of political contributions, said the report.

The industry also employs more indirect tactics, such as hiring Washington DC-based PR and government affairs firms, to promote what the AAR calls "balanced regulation," its euphemism for eliminating mandatory, government-enforced safety standards in favor of voluntary, industry-led oversight, according to the report.