Another Norfolk Southern train derailed as its CEO, Alan Shaw, testified to Congress on March 9 about the toxic train crash in Ohio in February.
The company stated that some 30 empty cars on a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Alabama as it was heading from Atlanta to Mississippi.
Another incident on Feb. 16 involved the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in the Van Buren township, outside of Detroit.
It came as Shaw made an appearance before a Senate panel to discuss the East Palestine incident, which prompted authorities to initiate a controlled burn of highly toxic vinyl chloride, which sent an ominous black cloud of smoke into the air. Local residents have reported a range of adverse health issues, including bronchitis and other respiratory issues, nausea, and rashes.
No one was injured, but half of the roughly 5,000 local residents were evacuated. The incident drew national attention to railroad safety and the ways dangerous materials are transported.
In the congressional appearance, Shaw apologized on behalf of Norfolk Southern, which has faced numerous lawsuits in connection to the crash. However, senators from both parties became visibly frustrated at times with Shaw, accusing him of not supporting their proposed policy commitments and delivering noncommittal answers.
“I am determined to make this right,” he told senators. “Norfolk Southern will clean the site safely, thoroughly and with urgency. You have my personal commitment.”
Shaw said that the company is “committed to the legislative intent to make rail safer” and that “Norfolk Southern runs a safe railroad.”
“We can always get better and that is my intent: to continue to invest and continue to improve,” he said.
The company has announced several voluntary safety upgrades. Senators, however, are looking to act themselves as they investigate the derailment, the Biden administration’s response, and the company’s safety practices after the toppling of 38 railcars, including 11 carrying hazardous materials.
Shaw pointed to the more than $1 billion the company spent on safety last year, but he acknowledged that Norfolk Southern also spent more than $3 billion buying back its own stock and recorded a $3.3 billion profit in 2022. Norfolk Southern workers have been on the site in East Palestine to remove “affected soil” and “potentially affected water,” he also remarked.
Norfolk Southern is also under pressure from federal regulators. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Railroad Administration both recently announced investigations of the East Palestine derailment and other accidents, including one that caused the death of a train conductor on March 7.
Train derailments have been getting less common, but there were still more than 1,000 last year, according to data from the Federal Railroad Administration. And as the East Palestine accident shows, even a single train derailment involving hazardous materials can be disastrous.
Hazardous materials shipments account for 7 to 8 percent of the roughly 30 million shipments railroads deliver across the U.S. each year. But railroads often mix shipments and might have one or two cars of hazardous materials on almost any train. The Association of American Railroads trade group stated that 99.9 percent of hazardous materials shipments reach their destinations safely.
