Train plight on time
Fraught hearing after 4th derail
A Norfolk Southern train derailed in Alabama early Thursday, just hours before the embattled railway’s CEO appeared before Congress to apologize for last month’s derailment in Ohio that released gallons of toxic chemicals into the air.
The latest incident took place around 6:45 a.m. in the White Plains area, the Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency said on Facebook.
According to preliminary reports, about 30 train cars had derailed.
Officials said there were no injuries and “no reports of leaks” of hazardous materials.
Representatives of Norfolk Southern have responded to the scene in Alabama, stressing in its statement: “There is NO danger to the public.”
Norfolk Southern said the train originated in Atlanta and was traveling westbound to Meridian, Miss.
Disaster
Thursday’s derailment in Alabama — Norfolk Southern’s fourth in just over a month — came just hours before CEO Alan Shaw was raked over the coals by Ohio’s Democratic and Republican senators over his company’s response to the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine.
The crash sparked mass evacuations and contaminated 1.1 million gallons of water and 15,000 pounds of soil in the small community.
In his testimony on Capitol Hill, Shaw pledged millions of dollars to help the town — but stopped short of backing a Senate bill that would toughen industry-wide safety regulations.
“I’m terribly sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the folks of that community,” Shaw said. “We’re going to be there for as long as it takes to help East Palestine thrive and recover.”
No one was injured as a result of last month’s derailment, but state and local officials decided to release and burn toxic vinyl chloride, sending clouds of acrid smoke billowing into the sky.
During Thursday’s hearing, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) blasted the railroad for prioritizing profits over people’s safety “by cutting cost at all costs.”
His GOP colleague, Sen. JD Vance, also lashed out at the beleaguered chief executive, accusing Norfolk Southern of resisting increased safety measures after enjoying decades of “special government privileges.”
On the heels of the disaster in East Palestine, another Norfolk Southern on Feb. 16 train hauling hazardous materials crashed in Van Buren Township, Mich., just outside of Detroit. About 30 train cars also derailed in this crash, not including one section carrying liquid chlorine.
Last week, a 212-car Norfolk Southern train went off the tracks in Springfield, Ohio, triggering a shelter-in-place order.