Cleanup efforts continue for parts of the Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio on February 9, 2023.
Jean J. Pusker | AP
south of norfolk Before a train laden with toxic chemicals derailed in February in Eastern Palestine, Ohio, regulators said they failed to address safety concerns for the engineer. In response to preliminary findings released Thursday, National Transportation Safety Board investigation.
The day before the train derailed, an engineer in Decatur, Illinois, had expressed concern about the size of the train to the yard master, according to the NTSB. But the engineer was told to the agency, “Well, this is what they want,” the investigation showed.
“I spoke with the manager and was told that this train is 100% compliant. In my opinion 32% of the weight is on the headend, 20% on the center and 40% on the headend. “So if you ask me, that’s why we reported it to the yardmaster, and as I said, this is what they want,” the Decatur engineer said. I was.
Norfolk Southern Railway responded by saying that the Federal Railways Administration had not established regulatory requirements for train composition and that the train met internal policies regarding train composition at the time of the East Palestine derailment.
“Every accident is a learning opportunity,” Southern Norfolk spokesman Connor Spielmaker told CNBC. We are fully committed to leading the industry.” on mail.
NTSB announced findings before launch 2 days of public hearings in the derailment on Thursday. The hearings are intended to address initial emergency preparedness, the decision-making process for ventilation and combustion of PVC tank cars, investigation of rail bearing failure modes and wayside detection systems, and more.
On February 3, a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying toxic chemicals derailed, releasing toxic chemicals into the environment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw has promised to help East Palestinians in Ohio, but critics say he hasn’t done enough.
In a separate statement, the Transportation and Communications Union told the NTSB that three minutes to three minutes and 45 seconds would be appropriate for maintenance personnel to inspect the vehicle. However, the union said Norfolk Southern had reduced the average inspection time to about one minute following the company’s new train scheduling strategy, which the TCU believes is insufficient for a comprehensive inspection of each train. Stated.
The company replied that it has no policy to limit the period of vehicle inspection.
Norfolk South made a further exception to the union’s claim, saying the current average scrutineering time is about two minutes. According to the company, this is one minute longer than the average value set by professional railroad workers who perform the same inspection and set as a guideline for crew members.
“It is not accurate to say that NS has ‘reduced’ the standard time for scrutineering since the introduction of the PSR. What we have done is documented and standardized on what a proper inspection looks like and what the time it takes for a qualified inspection. Railroad workers need to complete that inspection,” Spielmaker said.
