The Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which caused no deaths, has sparked a national conversation over rail safety — particularly as profits soar at major rail carriers.
One sticking point has been the use of the wayside hot-box detectors. These are used to detect the temperature of wheel bearings on passing rail cars. There were about 6,000 of these detectors placed along U.S. rail tracks as of 2015, according to a study by the Association of American Railroads...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/there-are-no-federal-regulations-on-key-rail-sensors