NTSB train derailment hearing starts this week
National Transportation Safety Board will hold hearings over February’s train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023.
The National Transportation Safety Board will hold hearings this week on what led to February’s train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and how safely the Norfolk Southern Railroad transports hazardous material.
Both Congress and several state legislatures are weighing new rules governing rail safety, including creating a database of precisely what toxic material trains are carrying through a given area. The hearing will take place June 22-23.
Norfolk Southern’s Vice President for Safety John Fleps ays the company has no issue with providing that information to communities and emergency workers.
“We view them as our partners and we are in full support of ensuring that they’re equipped with the knowledge and the intelligence to respond safely to any type of accident that occurs on or around the track,” says Fleps.
Read: Aftermath of the Ohio train derailment and waste disposal in Michigan
Several Michigan officials raised alarms after the railroad brought contaminated waste from East Palestine to disposal sites in the state, saying they were “blindsided” by the move.
“I…think it’s incredibly stupid to deliver contaminated soil from one degree ailment site to another site that was the site of a derailment only a week ago, and chose a lack of any kind of political sensitivity,” Congresswoman Debbie Dingell said in February. “And it was Norfolk Southern that had the derailment in Van Buren last week.”
Officials also propose limiting the length of a train, ensuring each has a two-person crew and bringing newer tanker cars online more quickly.
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