Norfolk Southern experienced its fourth train derailment in less than five months this week as the spotlight continues to highlight Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
"I have been briefed by FRA [Federal Railroad Administration] leadership and spoke with Gov. Mike DeWine to offer our support after the derailment today in Clark County, Ohio. No hazardous material release has been reported, but we will continue to monitor closely, and FRA personnel are en route," said Pete Buttigieg on Twitter on March 4.
The state's senior U.S. senator weighed in on the derailments.
"Sandusky, Steubenville, East Palestine, and now Springfield, four Norfolk Southern derailments in less than five months because this corporation has been more concerned with its profit margin than with Ohioans' safety," said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).
"Ohio communities should not be forced to live in fear of another disaster. It's unacceptable, it's why we must pass my bipartisan Railway Safety Act with Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), now."
On Oct. 8, 2022, a Norfolk Southern train derailed at Sandusky's Columbus Avenue rail bridge. Fifteen cars containing trash derailed Nov. 6 in Steubenville. On March 4, a train derailed in Springfield, Ohio.
Norfolk Southern recently released an expansive six-point plan to bolster the safety of its operations in light of a derailment that occurred in East Palestine, Ohio. This comprehensive response was crafted in tandem with the National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary findings concerning the incident.
The list of initiatives includes steps to increase track inspections, reduce train speed over certain segments of track, and improve crew training. Additionally, Norfolk Southern will introduce more stringent guidelines for railcar maintenance and repair, utilizing advanced technologies and new policies related to hazardous materials transport.
Norfolk Southern says it is committed to ensuring the safety of its rail operations. To this end, it says it is taking a number of measures to enhance their existing safety program.
For instance, the rail line states that it is deploying a larger number of hot bearing detectors and evaluating the distance between these detectors to ensure that their coverage of the railcars is maximized.
It says that it is also piloting next-generation hot bearing detectors, which are capable of scanning a much broader cross-section of railcars than traditional technology. In addition, it is reviewing industry standards and practices for hot bearing detector technology and installing more acoustic bearing detectors in order to catch potential risks before they become problems.
"Rail lobbyists have fought for years to protect their profits at the expense of communities like East Palestine and Steubenville and Sandusky," Brown said in a statement introducing the Railway Safety Act of 2023, bipartisan legislation to prevent future train derailment disasters. "These common-sense, bipartisan safety measures will finally hold big railroad companies accountable, make our railroads and the towns along them safer, and prevent future tragedies, so no community has to suffer like East Palestine again."
