Over two and a half months after a disastrous accident in Ohio, in the United States, Norfolk Southern started running trains along the section again, but not at full service. Trains are travelling only on the south track with lower speeds, which was recently repaired.

The accident in Ohio occurred on 3 February, when a wheelset of an NS convoy that was too hot caused the derailment and damage of 50 wagons. Some of the derailed wagons were tank containers that contained hazardous material that leaked into the soil and water around them. Before replacing the south track, NS workers excavated the soil that was contaminated by the aftermath of the accident. Track reconstruction started after tests, approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “confirmed the impacted soil under the removed track has been excavated”, as NS explained.

The EPA’s response update

Excavations for the replacement of the north track were scheduled to start on Thursday 20 April, as the EPA’s response update published on 17 April mentioned. The update from the EPA mentioned that Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer mobile laboratory personnel is working on air monitoring during the excavations carried out by NS. Moreover, “excavated soil and collected wastewater will continue to be shipped off‐site”.

According to the EPA report, over 26,000 tons of contaminated soil and almost 50,000 litres of liquid waste have already been shipped out of the site accident. So far, the EPA has been saying that there are no dangerous levels of toxicity in the air, water, or soil. However, residents of the area were and still are worried about the possible long-term implications of the accident. the Office of Inspector General of the EPA launched an internal investigation to analyse the agency’s response to the accident at the end of March.

Politics still involved

US politicians and institutions are still involved in the situation. Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown is working, together with senators from both sides, on the Railway Safety Act (RSA) of 2023. This bill, which the US Congress is currently discussing, contains steps to provide better safety on the country’s railways and hold railway companies more accountable. For example, the RSA would change the maximum fine that the US Department Of Transport can issue for safety violations from 225,000 dollars to 1 per cent of the company’s annual operating income. In addition, the bill would increase the hazmat registration fees paid by Class I railway companies to fund training emergency responders.

The RSA would also aim at introducing new requirements to prevent blocked crossings by trains carrying hazardous materials as well as new regulations for hot-bearing detectors. Moreover, the bill would create “a permanent requirement for railroads to operate with at least two-person crews”, since many companies count on one-person crews to keep costs lower. Finally, the bill entails 27 million dollars to improve safety on the railways. 22 million will go to the Federal Railroad Association for research and development grants for wayside defect detectors. The remaining 5 million will go to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration for expenses related to the development of improved tank containers.

NS’ CEO Alan Shaw also testified in front of the Ohio Senate Rail Committee, apologising to the East Palestine community and supporting the RSA pushed by Senator Brown. Brown seems optimistic about the passing of the bill, claiming that US President Joe Biden communicated his intentions of approving it. Biden, on the other hand, has not been free from criticism, most of which comes from Twitter, because he has not yet visited the site of the accident.

Also read:

• Paid sick leave for rail workers in the US: where do we stand?
• US railway giants merge to create first Canada-US-Mexico network
• Not enough staff to implement hot bearing detectors on US railways