© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A general view of the site of the derailment of a train carrying hazardous waste, in East Palestine, Ohio, U.S., March 2, 2023. REUTERS/Alan Freed
By David Sheparson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Norfolk Southern Chief Executive Officer Alan Shaw said on Tuesday the railroad will hold safety meetings and work to reinvigorate its safety culture after U.S. officials announced two far-reaching new reviews following a series of of accidents.
norfolk south (NYSE:) has come under fire after a series of train derailments, particularly one operating on February 3 in East Palestine, Ohio, that caused cars carrying toxic vinyl chloride and other dangerous chemicals to spill and they will catch fire.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced new safety investigations.
The announcements came after a driver was killed in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday when a dump truck struck a train. The NTSB, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Tuesday they were investigating the death.
“Tomorrow we will be conducting security briefings for all of our network employees,” said Shaw, who will testify Thursday before a Senate Committee hearing on the East Palestine derailment. “Going forward, we are going to rebuild our security culture from the ground up. We are going to invest more in security. This is not who we are, it is not acceptable, and it will not continue.”
On Tuesday evening, the FRA said it would carry out a supplementary 60-day safety assessment of the Norfolk Southern Railway.
“Following a series of derailments and the death of one of its workers, we are kicking off this new Norfolk Southern supplemental safety review, while calling on Norfolk Southern to act urgently to improve its approach to safety so the company can start to win back the trust of the public and their employees,” said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The FRA will use the information collected “to pressure Norfolk Southern to develop measures to mitigate risks while identifying appropriate compliance actions” and will issue a public report, Buttigieg added.
The NTSB said that given the number and significance of the recent Norfolk Southern accidents, it is opening what it called a special investigation and “urges the company to take immediate action today to review and evaluate its safety practices.”
Shaw added that he “brought together all members of our management team this afternoon to emphasize the urgency of finding new solutions.”
Following the East Palestine derailment, some of the city’s 4,700 residents reported ailments such as rashes and breathing difficulties and fear long-term health effects, but no deaths or injuries were reported after the accident.
Since December 2021, the NTSB has launched investigative teams for five major accidents involving Norfolk Southern, including the March 4 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train near Springfield, Ohio.
“Norfolk Southern’s continued safe operations are vital to the United States. The NTSB is concerned that various organizational factors may be involved in accidents, including safety culture,” the NTSB said.