Cleanup continues after Norfolk Southern freight train derails in East Palestine, Ohio, Feb. 9, 2023.
By Gene J. Puskar | The Associated Press
Norfolk Southern Airlines Supervisors failed to address safety concerns for engineers before a train laden with toxic chemicals reportedly derailed in East Palestine, Ohio in February Survey results released on Thursday National Transportation Safety Board investigation.
A day before the train derailed, an engineer in Decatur, Illinois, expressed his concerns about the size of the train to the station master, according to the NTSB. But the engineer told the agency he was told, “well, that’s what they want,” according to the findings.
“If you talk to the managers, they say the train is 100 per cent compliant. For me, in my opinion, you know, 32 per cent of the weight is at the head end. 20 per cent is in the middle and 40 per cent is at the tail end. . rear end collision. So, to me, that’s why we reported it to the yard chief, and like I said, that’s what they wanted,” the Decatur engineer said.
Norfolk Southern responded that the Federal Railroad Administration had not made regulatory requirements for the train configuration, which was consistent with its internal policy regarding train configuration at the time of the East Palestine derailment.
Norfolk Southern Airlines spokesman Connor Spielmaker told CNBC: “Every accident is a learning opportunity. We are working with labor leadership and craft employees to enhance safety, and we hired External security consultants, we are committed to leading the industry,” in an email.
NTSB releases findings before it begins two days of hearings The derailment incident on Thursday. The hearing was designed to discuss preparedness during initial emergency response, the decision-making process regarding venting and burning of vinyl chloride tankers, and inspection of truck bearing failure modes and roadside detection systems.
On February 3, a Norfolk Southern freight train laden with hazardous chemicals derailed, releasing toxic chemicals into the environment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw has pledged to support residents of East Palestine, Ohio, though critics say he hasn’t done enough.
The TCA told the NTSB in a separate statement that between three minutes and 3 minutes and 45 seconds for maintenance crews to inspect train cars is sufficient. But the union said Norfolk Southern had reduced the average inspection time to about a minute after implementing a new train scheduling strategy, which the TCU believed was insufficient to conduct a full inspection of every train.
The company responded that it has no policy limiting car inspection times.
Norfolk Southern further disputed the union’s allegations, saying the current average car inspection time is about two minutes. That was one minute longer than the average time set for professional rail workers to carry out the same inspection, the company said, and provided guidance to staff.
“Since implementing the PSR, it would be inaccurate to say that NS has ‘reduced’ the standard time for car inspections. What we have done is document and standardize what a correct inspection looks like, and how long a qualified inspection should take. Rail workers Get the inspection done,” Spilmaker said.