Norfolk Southern Railway disaster was preventable and the company must be held accountable

An echo editorial board opinion published in the Akron Beacon Journal in Ohio:

The nightmarish horrors inflicted on the tiny eastern Ohio town of East Palestine should serve as a wake-up call to all Americans.

While accidents are always part of life, what happened when the hazardous cargo of a Norfolk Southern train derailed February 3, is unacceptable and again illustrates why proper safety standards can't be compromised in the name of corporate profits or political victories.

There's still much we don't know about why the train derailed and how much fault Norfolk Southern should bear. There are also unanswered questions on how the emergency was managed and whether the controlled release of vinyl chloride from five rail cars was the best solution.

But we do know Norfolk Southern recently reported record operating profits, has a poor accident rate when compared to most of its peers, has lobbied against tougher safety standards and favors running heavier and longer trains to maximize profits.

ProPublica reported Thursday that Norfolk Southern policy "allows staffers to instruct crews to ignore alerts from track sensors that flag possible mechanical issues." In October, the company allowed a train with an engine wheel heating up to continue near Sandusky. Four miles later it derailed, dumping thousands of gallons of molten paraffin wax.

We also know federal rail standards have eroded, including dropping mandatory cabooses where personnel could report problems at the back of a train. And it's a fact that the Trump administration repealed a brakes requirement for some trains, stating the cost exceeded its benefits.

Norfolk Southern train likely passed through heavily populated areas. In fact, the cataclysmic Norfolk-Southern train derailment in East Palestine on February 3, 2023, could have impacted far more Ohioans.

Norfolk-Southern Railway officials haven't provided details of the train's route.  But, a federal agency investigating the disaster confirmed on Wednesday that the train, which started its journey on the Illinois/Missouri state line, was piloted by a crew it picked up in Toledo.

If the train followed the most direct route on Norfolk-Southern tracks toward East Palestine, it would have then passed through Cleveland, Hudson and Ravenna, as well as near Kent, before catching fire and crashing in rural Ohio. 

As awful as the scene in East Palestine has been, we keep imagining if this derailment had happened 60 miles earlier in a more populated area along the busy Norfolk Southern line. What would have happened if the same train derailed in Cleveland, Macedonia, Hudson, Ravenna or Alliance? All are along the Norfolk Southern main line, which also had a derailment in November near Ravenna.

The fires alone could have killed many and destroyed buildings while disrupting tens of thousands of lives, not to mention the clear health and environmental concerns from the release of toxic chemicals.

We empathize with the people of East Palestine in every way possible. They did not ask for their lives to be turned upside down and deserve all the help they need, beginning with clear and factual answers.

We've also been reminded that few of us pay attention to what's inside tanker train cars and semis, although the latter carry much smaller quantities. 

Many Ohioans are surely looking at and listening to trains roar through their communities with a different state of mind the past three weeks. Local leaders along major rail lines should review their disaster plans.