COLUMBUS – Norfolk Southern’s CEO went to Capitol Hill yesterday, bringing an apology and a promise.
“I’m terribly sorry for the impact this derailment has had,” Alan Shaw told members of a Senate panel.
Shaw says the railroad is pledging millions of dollars to help East Palestine recover from last month’s fiery train derailment.
“I am determined to make this right. Norfolk Southern will clean the site safely, thoroughly and with urgency. You have me personal commitment,” he said.
But he stopped short of fully endorsing tougher safety regulations or specific commitments to pay for long-term health and economic harm.
In a packed Senate hearing, CEO Alan Shaw told the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works his railroad firmly supports the goal of improving rail safety, but he also defended his company’s record.
He was questioned closely by both Democrats and Republicans about specific commitments to pay for long-term health and economic harm — and about the decision making that led to the release and burn of toxic vinyl chloride from five tanker cars — as well as the company’s commitment to safety and helping the people of East Palestine.
The derailment and cleanup, as well as others in Ohio and elsewhere, sparked a show of bipartisanship in the Senate. The committee on Thursday also heard from Ohio Republican Senator JD Vance and Democrat Sherrod Brown and Pennsylvania’s Bob Casey, who are proposing new safety regulations under a Railway Safety Act of 2023, which would require more hot bearing detectors to be installed, set limits on train length and make sure railroads notify states about the hazardous materials they are transporting.
Some Republicans have hesitated to support the proposal, resisting efforts to impose new regulations.
Vance, who first won election last November, slammed those in his party who have dismissed his bill, saying they are ignoring a shift in the GOP to appeal to blue-collar voters.
“We have a choice: Are we for big business and big government, or are we for the people of East Palestine?” he said.
U.S. railroads were warned to take certain cars out of service Thursday after Norfolk Southern discovered loose wheels on a car involved in last weekend’s derailment in Clark County.
It’s not clear that the loose wheels caused the derailment near Springfield last Saturday because the National Transportation Safety Board has just begun investigating that crash — the latest in a string of high-profile derailments that have been grabbing headlines.
But the railroad said the loose wheels on the car could cause a derailment.