Ohio train crash answers may not be enough to quell fury
When a Norfolk Southern Corp. train derailed earlier this month, creating a fiery crash that spilled chemicals across a small Ohio town, long-simmering tensions in the U.S. ignited along with it.
While the crash didn’t cause any injuries or deaths, it has become a focal point of grievances and suspicions. Some have said corporate greed is taking precedence over rail safety and environmental protection. Others have accused the federal government of downplaying the incident because of the town’s conservative political leanings.
Underneath the hot-tempered debate, investigators are seeking to understand the root cause of the crash and how such incidents can be prevented. If all goes well those findings — likely to be laid out in a public report in a few weeks — will better inform discussions about the crash. But after three years of a divisive and deadly pandemic, there’s no guarantee answers will help.
So far the focus of the National Transportation Safety Board investigation has been on the moments before the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which caused 38 of the train’s 150 cars to veer off path.
The NTSB has pointed to video evidence that shows a wheel bearing on one of the cars catching fire before the derailment. The wheels from that segment of the train will be taken the NTSB’s laboratory in Washington for examination.
A faulty wheel bearing raises other questions, such as why sensors placed along the tracks, known as hotboxes, didn’t immediately warn there was overheating. Railroads have relied more on such sensors, which aren’t mandated by law, to help detect initial failures before they turn catastrophic.
NTSB investigators will also examine the cars themselves, and scour data from the event recorder and wayside sensors.
Train safety was already a flashpoint before the Norfolk Southern crash. Large railroads in the U.S. shed more than 40,000 workers since 2016 under a strategy called Precision Scheduled Railroading. That boosted profits but ruffled customers, who had to adjust their schedules for freight pickup, and angered workers, who were stretched thin.