An overlooked factor driving the proposed rollout of ECP brakes: PTC & increased train frequency
Although the NTSB has indicated that the train in the Ohio derailment was travelling within allowable speed limits and that a lack of ECP brakes was not the root cause ( https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217675069 )
PTC or Positive Train Control - implemented during the Obama admin -
is intended to prevent derailments due to other factors:
From the FRA website:
https://railroads.dot.gov/research-development/program-areas/train-control/ptc/positive-train-control-ptc
"Positive Train Control (PTC) systems are designed to prevent train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into established work zones, and movements of trains through switches left in the wrong position. "
So how does this tie in to ECP brakes?
Without getting into the nitty gritty technical details, Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) braking (with the application & release of brakes being controlled by an electric signal as opposed to an air signal in a brake pipe) allows for somewhat more convenient interface with PTC during the installation phase of PTC.
From https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267600084_Increasing_US_Freight_Rail_Network_Capacity_With_ECP_Braking_and_PTC_Systems
"Growth in U.S. rail freight demand, especially for intermodal and coal, is leading to capacity constraints on key corridors. The costs of building new rail lines are often prohibitive, and the industry needs to find other solutions for increasing capacity.
Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) braking combined with new Positive Train Control (PTC) systems have the potential to double the traffic density on existing double-track rail corridors,
as well as increase average network speeds. This has the potential to support the projected increase in rail traffic over the next 20 years, without needing significant additions to track infrastructure. Implementation of ECP and PTC is challenging, and will require close cooperation between railroads, car owners, shippers, railroad suppliers, and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)."
(emphasis mine)
The twist: It would be ironic if Trump meddling in the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) - supposedly meant to assuage the concern of some freight railroads & railcar owners about the cost of rolling out ECP brakes (which could well have been shared the way grade-crossing eliminations are under the Biden Infrastructure Bill)- actually ended up limiting the industry's capacity.
(Disclaimer- I haven't seen any studies on this which I could quote, so no citations available so far on this last point.)
Reference: S. 1451 (IS) - Railroad Advancement of Innovation and Leadership with Safety Act
https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/BILLS-115s1451is
Is the Trump admin bill that specifically called for the Federal Railroad Administration to use "performance-based" regulation & effectively nullified the ECP brake rule