Three months before one of his railroad’s trains derailed and burned in Ohio, Norfolk Southern chief executive Alan Shaw shared a picture of him and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg smiling together after a meeting in Washington.
Shaw thanked Buttigieg, saying they had discussed shared goals for economic growth and infrastructure investments. Shaw presented his railroad as a climate-friendly alternative to sending freight by truck.
“Every time we shift freight from highway to rail, we reduce carbon emissions, ease congestion, and reduce wear on the nation’s publicly funded highway infrastructure,” Shaw wrote in a LinkedIn post.
But the meeting also had another purpose, according to a memo drafted later by a Transportation Department lawyer: It was an opportunity for Norfolk Southern to raise concerns about a proposed federal rule that would require trains, in most cases, to have two crew members. Federal regulators have argued that two workers could better respond to derailments and other emergencies, but the industry has pushed back against the proposal.
“Every conversation will begin with safety in 2023 and beyond,” Norfolk Southern executive vice president and chief operating officer Paul Duncan told analysts. “Operating safely is the right thing for our employees, customers, shareholders and the communities that we serve. This is an area where we have made great strides, but even one serious incident is too many.”
Duncan didn’t discuss a chart in his presentation showing an upward trend in train accidents, which railroad officials say can vary from minor incidents in rail yards or trespassing incidents, to collisions and derailments. The rate per million miles for such incidents was 3.89 last year, up from 3.87 in 2021, 3.59 in 2020 and 3.11 in 2019.
At least 20 Norfolk Southern trains that have derailed since 2015 had chemical releases, according to FRA records.
In 2016, a derailment in Chautauqua County, N.Y., prompted evacuation orders and a massive effort to contain thousands of gallons of ethanol. In October 2020, a coal train derailed at a river trestle in Roanoke, leaving coal and debris in the stream. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality ordered Norfolk Southern to pay a $27,300 fine for environmental damage.
In May 2022, a Norfolk Southern train carrying petroleum distillates went off the rail in Harmar Township, Pa., dumping the liquid into a creek. A train hauling hazardous materials derailed Thursday near Detroit, but none spilled, officials said.
https://wapo.st/3lRRKFO
Reply With Quote