Norfolk Southern CEO: We’re here for town
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw stood across the street from where his company’s train derailed in East Palestine earlier this month and declared the village a safe place to live.
“I’ve been here several times. I’ve drank the water, and I’ve eaten the food as I’ve sat down with residents of the community and heard their concerns,” he said in an interview. “I know the testing is showing that the air is safe and the water is safe. I also know this community is frustrated.”
Shaw was in East Palestine Tuesday as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials ordered Norfolk Southern to do whatever is necessary to clean up East Palestine and help residents recover. One of the company’s freight trains derailed in a fiery wreck in the village on Feb. 3, spilling chemicals into the environment and spurring health concerns in nearby towns in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
State and federal officials are pledging to hold the company accountable and have said legal action could be on the table.
“It is my view that Norfolk Southern wasn’t going to do this out of the goodness of their own heart,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday. “There’s not a lot of goodness in there.”
USA TODAY Network Ohio spoke with Shaw about the derailment, aftermath and what comes next.
What is Norfolk Southern doing?
Shaw said the company continues to monitor air and water quality and is in the process of removing soil from the area. So far, workers have pulled up 4,500 cubic yards of soil and 1.5 million gallons of contaminated water. The runoff will be sent to facilities designed to handle polluted environmental material.
Norfolk Southern has so far committed $5.6 million to residents, which Shaw called a “down payment” on the community. The company recently announced that a railroad worker who lives in East Palestine will serve as a community liaison for a year and provide Shaw’s office with updates.
“This is devastating for this community, and I understand that,” Shaw said. “I’ve had the opportunity to talk to a number of the families here, and they’re very clear with me what they’re going through. All I can do is reiterate my commitment that we’re going be here today, we’re going to be here tomorrow, we’re going be here a year from now, we’re going be here five years from now.”
Why did Norfolk Southern back out of town hall?
Residents hoping to hear from Norfolk Southern last week were frustrated when the company backed out of a local town hall, citing unspecified safety concerns. Shaw offered few additional specifics on Tuesday and said he was disappointed that “circumstances” prevented them from attending.
“There’s a lot of emotion around this, and we wanted to make sure that Mayor Conaway had the opportunity to hold a town hall without disruption,” Shaw said. “At the same time, our folks were here in this community, and we continue to be here in this community.”
Norfolk Southern’s safety record
Norfolk Southern has among the highest accident rates nationally and the highest number of derailments in Ohio, a USA TODAY Network analysis of federal safety data found. The company has reported an average of nearly 261 accidents a year since 2019 and roughly three accidents per million train miles.
Shaw did not directly address Norfolk Southern’s record when asked about it, but he said safety is ingrained in the company’s culture. He also noted that train derailments have declined in recent years and pointed to statistics that show hazardous material spills are rare.
“We are always focused on making Norfolk Southern safer,” Shaw said. “We’re going to look for solution-based responses, and we’re going to look for science to guide us on how to make Norfolk Southern safe. As you can imagine, every day since this occurred, I’ve asked myself, ‘What could we have done better?’ There’s always more to do.”
How should railroads be regulated?
Shaw urged people against speculating about the cause of the crash and said the company is awaiting the outcome of a National Transportation Safety Board investigation. At that point, he said, the company will work with regulators and elected officials to determine possible solutions.
At the same time, Norfolk Southern has lobbied heavily against federal regulations, including efforts to require electronically controlled brakes on certain trains and ensure at least two crew members are overseeing most operations.
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has called for stronger regulations after the Ohio derailment and believes railroad companies who break the rules should face harsher penalties.
“I’ve talked to Secretary Buttigieg about this a couple of times, as you can imagine. He’s been very clear with me his frustration over this. My commitment to Secretary Buttigieg is the same as my commitment to the citizens of this community.”
Canton Repository reporter Kelli Weir contributed.
Haley Bemiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.