Norfolk Southern CEO Apologizes for East Palestine Train Derailment

WASHINGTON — The chief executive of Norfolk Southern plans to tell lawmakers at a Senate hearing on Thursday that he is “deeply sorry” for the effects of the train derailment last month in East Palestine, Ohio, as residents continue to express deep concerns about the possible environmental damage from the accident.

In prepared remarks released before the hearing, which is being held by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the chief executive, Alan H. Shaw, says he is determined to “clean the site safely, thoroughly and with urgency,” adding that he is “determined to make it right.”

Federal investigators found that a wheel bearing on one of the train’s cars had been heating up as the train passed through Ohio, but that an alarm did not sound to alert the crew until it passed a sensor not far from where it derailed. Safety experts say the crew could have averted the disaster if there were more sensors closer together on the route that the train took.

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday that it had opened a special investigation into the safety practices at Norfolk Southern. Another of the company’s freight trains derailed near Springfield, Ohio, on Saturday. Norfolk Southern’s accident rate increased over the past four years, according to a recent company presentation.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/09/us/politics/ohio-derailment-norfolk-southern-senate-hearing.html