Three trains per day should not derail

An empty CSX coal train derailed in West Virginia on Wednesday when it crashed into a landslide, injuring three crew members. Last Saturday, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Springfield, Ohio. Another Norfolk Southern train derailed in Alabama on Thursday, shortly before Norfolk Southern’s CEO began his testimony in front of Congress.

Before the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, none of this would be news.

According to the Bureau of Transportation, on average, there are more than 1,000 train derailments a year — roughly three every day. They are so commonplace that for years, no one really paid attention. A November train crash in Ohio went completely ignored by Norfolk Southern and the National Transportation Safety Board, despite extensive property damage, until a local news station drew attention to it in light of the Feb. 3 crash.

But it was the image of a massive black mushroom cloud hovering over East Palestine that captured the nation’s attention, and now almost every train crash and derailment draws public scrutiny.

In the immediate aftermath of the Feb. 3 disaster, theories about what caused the derailment dominated the airwaves. Commentators talked about Civil War-era braking systems, two-man crews, chronic understaffing, one-minute inspections and precision scheduled railroading. They speculated there were one or more defect detector failures. But the initial report from the NTSB indicates that the East Palestine derailment was caused by none of the above: A wheel bearing in the 23rd car overheated, eventually catching the plastic pellets inside the car on fire. Three defect detectors in the train tracks recorded the bearing’s increasing temperature. However, it wasn’t until it passed over the third detector that the temperature reached the threshold Norfolk Southern had set to trigger an audible alarm to stop the train. Moments later, the 23rd car derailed, taking more than 30 other cars with it, as the crew was in the process of bringing the train to a stop.

Even though virtually none of the initial speculation was correct, an NTSB official made it clear the East Palestine crash was entirely preventable. And all the issues that commentators and experts brought up are still ones that need to be resolved, because while they may not have caused the East Palestine disaster, any number or combination of them could have contributed to the thousands of previous derailments and may yet contribute to hundreds of future derailments.

The Federal Railroad Administration may technically be in charge of railroad safety and oversight, but nearly all the freight railways in America are privately owned, operated and maintained. Extensive — and successful — efforts by railroad company lobbyists have led to rolled-back safety regulations and limited enforcement power.

Now that national attention has fallen on railroads, maybe Congress will finally pass comprehensive regulations that will force rail companies to update their safety policies and technology. But in order for such regulations to be effective, the fines and penalties for violating safety regulations must be significantly higher than the cost to implement them. Otherwise, rail companies will decide it’s more cost-effective to keep up business as usual, despite endangering their workers and communities like East Palestine.

Nearly all the freight railways in America are privately owned, operated and maintained. Extensive — and successful — efforts by railroad company lobbyists have led to rolled-back safety regulations and limited enforcement power.