Norfolk Southern’s Push for Profits Compromised Safety, Workers Say

Peter Eavis, Mark Walker and Niraj Chokshi
Sun, April 2, 2023

Alan Shaw, president and CEO, Norfolk Southern Corporation, center, testifies during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in Washington, March 22, 2023. (Pete Marovich/The New York Times)

Norfolk Southern once had so few accidents and injuries that it won the rail industry’s prestigious E.H. Harriman safety award for 23 years in a row until it was retired in 2012. But in the past decade, the company has gone from an industry leader to a laggard.

The rate at which its trains are involved in accidents and its workers are injured on the job has soared, putting it at or near the bottom on those safety measures among the country’s four largest freight railroads. Employees, former workers and some rail experts blame decisions by executives to cut thousands of jobs and put pressure on employees to speed up deliveries in a drive to bolster profits.

Lance Johnston is among the critics. Johnston was a Norfolk Southern engineer, or train driver, in the St. Louis area for more than 25 years until he was fired after a dispute in 2021 with his manager about problems with a train’s brakes.

That July, he said, he started a shift at the A.O. Smith rail yard in Granite City, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, and found that his locomotive had defective brakes. After notifying a supervisor of the problem, Johnston said, he was told to use the locomotive, even though the defect was in violation of Norfolk Southern regulations and could, he said, make it hard to control the train and even lead to a derailment.

“When the equipment’s defective, the equipment’s defective,” he said in an interview last week. “You stop what you’re doing, and you fix it.”

Norfolk Southern’s operations have been under federal scrutiny since one of its trains carrying hazardous substances derailed in February in East Palestine, Ohio. Johnston said he believed that the operations had really begun deteriorating about four years ago, around the time the company said it would adopt efficiency measures known in the industry as precision scheduled railroading. He said the cutbacks meant there were not enough people to repair and maintain trains.

Since 2012, the size of Norfolk Southern’s workforce has dropped 39%, a bigger decline than at any of the other three large U.S. freight rail companies — BNSF, CSX and Union Pacific. Meanwhile, Norfolk Southern’s accident rate, which measures the number of accidents against the miles a company’s trains have traveled, soared 80%, the largest increase by far among the four railroads, though Union Pacific’s rate has been consistently higher. Rail accidents include derailments, collisions and fires.

Norfolk Southern’s injury rate for employees on duty has also risen, and over the past 10 years it has been, on average, significantly worse than those recorded by the other three large U.S. railroads. The injury rate did improve last year, and is better than the rates at other railroads, including Canadian companies that operate trains in the United States.

“It’s my goal to work with our new operations leadership team, union leadership and our front-line employees to further strengthen Norfolk Southern’s safety culture and make it the best in the industry,” CEO Alan H. Shaw said in a statement.

He added that Norfolk Southern’s derailments last year were its fewest in 20 years and that its injury rate was the lowest in 10 years. A representative for the railroad said its accident rate had gone up in part because its trains now traveled fewer miles.

Johnston said the safety concern he had raised was particularly important because the trains he had typically worked on traveled through residential areas in the St. Louis area. (The train that derailed in East Palestine started at a neighboring rail yard in Illinois.)

Johnston was fired soon after the dispute and has filed a whistleblower complaint with the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration claiming that he was fired for raising a safety issue.

Norfolk Southern declined to comment on Johnston’s OSHA case and his account of being fired. In a letter to OSHA, a lawyer representing the company said it had fired Johnston for “unbecoming” conduct based on an “insubordinate, threatening and profane outburst toward his supervisor.”

Since 2018, Norfolk Southern workers and former employees have filed 267 whistleblower complaints with OSHA, the most of any of the large freight railroads. The agency, which enforces whistleblower protection laws, including those in the rail industry, opened an investigation into 239 of the complaints.

In the same period, CSX had 204 complaints, followed by 198 from workers at Union Pacific and 138 at BNSF.

Norfolk Southern’s safety practices and culture are the subject of a special investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. In opening the review, the board cited the East Palestine derailment and other recent incidents in which three workers were killed. The board is aiming to determine if “there’s something more systemic going on” at the company that caused those and other accidents, said Jennifer Homendy, the board’s chair.

The Federal Railroad Administration, the top rail regulator, is also investigating the company. Congress has held hearings, and lawmakers have introduced bipartisan bills that would impose tougher safety standards on all railroads, especially those that carry hazardous substances. And the Justice Department said Friday that it had sued the railroad, asking it to pay cleanup costs and additional penalties for the East Palestine derailment.

Rail experts said Norfolk Southern’s turn toward demanding more of fewer workers and pushing them to work faster was part of an industry trend. Under pressure from hedge funds and other investors, the largest freight railroads have aggressively sought to run their operations more efficiently over the past decade.

Precision scheduled railroading generally involves sticking to a strict operating schedule; cutting staff and assets like train cars, locomotives and rail yards; and running fewer but longer trains. Canadian National pioneered it in the late 1990s under its CEO, E. Hunter Harrison, who later took his hyper-efficient approach to Canadian Pacific and CSX.

In 2018 and 2019, Kansas City Southern, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced plans to incorporate at least some of the principles advanced by Harrison, who died in 2017.

Those changes have been a boon to railroad investors and executives. Norfolk Southern’s profits have soared, and over the past five years it has paid shareholders nearly $18 billion through stock buybacks and dividends. On Friday, Norfolk Southern said Shaw’s pay more than doubled last year to $9.8 million. In his statement, he said his pay and that of other executives would now be based partly on safety metrics.

But the industry’s efficiency drive has so angered railroad workers that they nearly walked off the job last fall, threatening to imperil the U.S. economy. That strike was averted after Congress and President Joe Biden imposed a contract that many workers found sorely lacking because it did not guarantee them paid time off for illness or medical appointments.

“It’s profit over everything, not just safety,” Mark Wallace, a top official with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said in reference to the entire rail industry. “It’s profit over customer service. It’s profit over employee satisfaction.”

Bill Tucker, a lawyer in Birmingham, Alabama, has been representing freight workers in cases against employers for 45 years. Norfolk Southern is the worst offender among the large railroads, he said.

One suit that Tucker filed in federal court in 2021 on behalf of two Norfolk Southern workers, Shane Fowler and Kelvin Taylor, asserts that a manager threatened to discipline the men after they reported safety issues that violated the Federal Railroad Administration’s defect and safety rules.

In the lawsuit, the two men said their manager had demanded that they remove the “bad order” tags, which are used to flag defective cars, from two cars. The complaint states that Fowler and Taylor reported their manager to the Norfolk Southern Ethics and Compliance hotline for safety violations. Soon after, the workers were themselves charged with safety violations, which they said they hadn’t committed.

Fowler and Taylor, who still work at the company, said through Tucker that they had no comment. “Morale on the railroads in general, and at Norfolk Southern in particular, is abysmal,” the lawyer said. “It’s just awful.”

Laws that govern the railways push employees with grievances to use internal company hearings, limiting their ability to take disputes to court. As a result, critics of the industry say, railroad companies find it easier than other businesses to dismiss employees and their complaints.

Some workers said that despite such problems they liked rail work. Johnston, the fired train engineer, wants to reclaim his job.

On the day of the dispute in 2021, he operated the locomotive with defective brakes until a federal regulator, doing inspections in the yard, noticed the problem and said the engine had to be taken out of service until repairs were done.

Later that day, having been told that the brakes were fixed, Johnston discovered that one was still defective, he said. He got into an argument with his supervisor and used his cellphone to take a photograph of the defect, which can be a violation of Norfolk Southern rules.

“I expected to be punished,” Johnston said, “but I didn’t expect to be terminated.”

c.2023 The New York Times Company

Cleanup begins after fiery Minnesota ethanol derailment


Train Derailment MinnesotaA BNSF train carrying ethanol and corn syrup derailed and caught fire in Raymond, Minn., Thursday, March 30, 2023. BNSF officials said 22 cars derailed, including about 10 carrying ethanol, and the track remains blocked, but that no injuries were reported due to the accident. The cause of the derailment hasn't been determined. (Mark Vancleave /Star Tribune via AP)

JOSH FUNK
Fri, March 31, 2023 

Crews have started removing contaminated soil and damaged railcars left behind by Thursday's fiery derailment in southwest Minnesota.

Authorities said Friday afternoon the ethanol fire that burned for hours had been extinguished and that local firefighters were allowed to leave after remaining on site overnight. But large water tanks and railroad firefighting equipment remained at the site to handle any flare-ups as damaged tank cars are removed.

The entire town of Raymond, which is about 100 miles (161 kilometers) west of Minneapolis, had to be evacuated after 22 cars, including 10 carrying ethanol, left the tracks. Four of the tank cars ruptured and caught fire. But the several hundred residents were allowed to return home by midday Thursday, and no injuries were reported.

This latest derailment only adds to concerns nationally about railroad safety. Lawmakers and regulators want freight railroads to make changes after last month's derailment near East Palestine, Ohio, that forced half that town to evacuate. Even though officials say the area is safe, many residents have lingering health concerns.

The Kandiyohi County Sheriff's office said BNSF railroad crews began removing some of the contaminated soil under and around the tracks early Friday morning. And once investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board gave the OK, workers started to remove the damaged railcars.

It’s not clear how long the cleanup will take, and no cause of the derailment has been determined yet.

The head of the Fort Worth, Texas-based railroad promised a thorough cleanup and said BNSF works hard to prevent derailments like this from happening.

NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said the BNSF train had three crew members — an engineer, conductor and brakeman — aboard when it derailed around 1 a.m. Thursday. The train had a total of 14 ethanol cars along with corn syrup it was delivering.

Holloway said investigators will work to determine what caused the derailment.

The Environmental Protection Agency continued monitoring the air around the derailment Friday, but officials said the agency hasn’t found any worrisome levels of contaminants or particulate matter.

CDC team falls sick probing Ohio train derailment

Bernd Debusmann Jr - BBC News, Washington
Fri, March 31, 2023 

The train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on 3 February was carrying vinyl chloride and other potentially hazardous substances

Authorities say seven US health investigators fell ill while probing the impact of the 3 February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the investigator's symptoms included nausea and headaches.

Locals in East Palestine have reported similar illnesses.

The train was carrying vinyl chloride and other potentially hazardous substances.

The CDC investigators formed part of a team that was conducting house-to-house interviews in the area of the derailment last month, according to authorities. They immediately reported their symptoms to federal authorities after they fell ill.

"Symptoms resolved for most team members later the same afternoon," the CDC said in a statement. "Everyone resumed work on survey data collection within 24 hours. Impacted team members have not reported ongoing health effects."

In the wake of the derailment, state and federal officials repeatedly sought to reassure East Palestine residents that local air and water supplies were safe. Residents, however, reported headaches, nausea, burning eyes and sore throats, sparking fears that their long-term health could be impacted.

Environmental officials have said that nearly 45,000 animals died as a result of the toxic train crash, although all were aquatic species.

One of the chemicals that the train was carrying, vinyl chloride, is a colourless, hazardous gas that is primarily used to make PVC plastic. It is also a known carcinogen and acute exposure is linked to dizziness, drowsiness and headaches. Prolonged exposure can cause liver damage and a rare form of liver cancer.

On Thursday, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the company that operated the train - Norfolk Southern - over environmental damage caused by the derailment.

The justice department said it plans to hold the company responsible for "unlawfully polluting the nation's waterways and to ensure it pays the full cost of the environmental cleanup," the lawsuit states.

Additionally, the lawsuit is seeking fines and a judgement that will hold the firm accountable for future costs associated with the environmental response to the derailment.

A separate lawsuit, filed by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost last month, is seeking to recoup the state's costs and ensure that Norfolk Southern carries out long-term environmental monitoring.

Norfolk Southern has repeatedly apologised for the crash and has so far pledged $27.9m (£22.6m) to the community.

"I am deeply sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the people of East Palestine and surrounding communities," CEO Alan Shaw told a Senate committee earlier this month. "I am determined to make this right."

Evacuations in Minnesota After Fiery Derailment of Train Carrying Ethanol

The train was operated by BNSF, which has lobbied aggressively against safety regulations in recent years.

A Raymond, Minnesota resident's photo shows the fiery BNSF train derailment on March 30, 2023.
(Photo: Jamie Bestge/Facebook)


JAKE JOHNSON
Mar 30, 2023

This is a developing news story..

A BNSF train carrying ethanol derailed and caught fire early Thursday morning in Raymond, Minnesota, forcing residents living near the crash site to evacuate.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has faced backlash for responding inadequately to the disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, said the Federal Railroad Administration is "on the ground' in Raymond following the derailment.

"At present no injuries or fatalities have been reported," said Buttigieg. "We are tracking closely as more details emerge."



BNSF, which is controlled by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, has lobbied aggressively against enhanced rail safety regulations at the state and federal levels in recent years.

An OpenSecrets analysis published earlier this month found that BNSF has spent nearly $13 million on state-level lobbying since 2003. BNSF's parent company is also among the rail industry's top federal lobbying spenders over the past two decades, according to federal disclosures.

BNSF said in a statement that more than 20 train cars "carrying mixed freight including ethanol and corn syrup" derailed in Raymond on Thursday.

The wreck and resulting blaze forced local authorities to issue evacuation orders for people living within a half-mile of the site. The Minnesota Department of Transportation said a nearby highway was also closed due to the fire.

The local sheriff's department said in a press release that "no travel is advised to the city of Raymond" as emergency workers attempt to contain the fire.

BNSF train derailment spills diesel fuel on tribal land in Washington

March 16, 2023

This photo provided by the Washington Department of Ecology shows a derailed BNSF train on the Swinomish tribal reservation near Anacortes, Wash. on Thursday, March 16, 2023. Two BNSF trains derailed in separate incidents in Arizona and Washington state on Thursday, with the latter spilling diesel fuel. There were no injuries reported in either. The derailment in Washington occurred on a berm along Puget Sound, on the Swinomish tribal reservation near Anacortes.

 (Washington Department of Ecology via AP)


ANACORTES, Wash. (AP) — Two BNSF trains derailed in separate incidents in Arizona and Washington state on Thursday, with the latter spilling diesel fuel on tribal land along Puget Sound.

No injuries were reported. It wasn’t clear what caused either derailment.

The derailment in Washington occurred on a berm along Padilla Bay, on the Swinomish tribal reservation near Anacortes. Most of 5,000 gallons (nearly 19,000 liters) of spilled diesel fuel leaked on the land side of the berm rather than toward the water, according to the state Ecology Department.

Officials said there were no indications the spill reached the water or affected any wildlife.

Responders placed a boom along the shoreline as a precaution and removed the remaining fuel from two locomotives that derailed. Four tank cars remained upright.

The derailment in western Arizona, near the state’s border with California and Nevada, involved a train carrying corn syrup. A spokeswoman for the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, Anita Mortensen, said that she was not aware of any spills or leaks.

BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent said an estimated eight cars derailed in Arizona and were blocking the main track. The cause of the derailment was under investigation, and it was not immediately known when the track will reopen.

The derailments came amid heightened attention to rail safety nationwide following a fiery derailment last month in Ohio and a string of derailments since then that have been grabbing headlines, including ones in Michigan, Alabama and other states.

The U.S. averages about three train derailments per day, according to federal data, but relatively few create disasters.

Last month, a freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border, igniting a fire and causing hundreds of people to be evacuated.

Officials seeking to avoid an uncontrolled blast intentionally released and burned toxic vinyl chloride from five rail cars, sending flames and black smoke high into the sky. That left people questioning the potential health impacts even as authorities maintained they were doing their best to protect people.

BNSF train derailment spills diesel fuel on tribal land in Washington

This photo provided by the Washington Department of Ecology shows a derailed BNSF train on the Swinomish tribal reservation near Anacortes, Wash. on Thursday, March 16, 2023. Two BNSF trains derailed in separate incidents in Arizona and Washington state on Thursday, with the latter spilling diesel fuel. There were no injuries reported in either. The derailment in Washington occurred on a berm along Puget Sound, on the Swinomish tribal reservation near Anacortes. (Washington Department of Ecology via AP)

ANACORTES, Wash. (AP) — Two BNSF trains derailed in separate incidents in Arizona and Washington state on Thursday, with the latter spilling diesel fuel on tribal land along Puget Sound.

No injuries were reported. It wasn’t clear what caused either derailment.

The derailment in Washington occurred on a berm along Padilla Bay, on the Swinomish tribal reservation near Anacortes. Most of 5,000 gallons (nearly 19,000 liters) of spilled diesel fuel leaked on the land side of the berm rather than toward the water, according to the state Ecology Department.

Officials said there were no indications the spill reached the water or affected any wildlife.

Responders placed a boom along the shoreline as a precaution and removed the remaining fuel from two locomotives that derailed. Four tank cars remained upright.

The derailment in western Arizona, near the state’s border with California and Nevada, involved a train carrying corn syrup. A spokeswoman for the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, Anita Mortensen, said that she was not aware of any spills or leaks.
BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent said an estimated eight cars derailed in Arizona and were blocking the main track. The cause of the derailment was under investigation, and it was not immediately known when the track will reopen.

The derailments came amid heightened attention to rail safety nationwide following a fiery derailment last month in Ohio and a string of derailments since then that have been grabbing headlines, including ones in Michigan, Alabama and other states.

The U.S. averages about three train derailments per day, according to federal data, but relatively few create disasters.

Last month, a freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border, igniting a fire and causing hundreds of people to be evacuated.

Officials seeking to avoid an uncontrolled blast intentionally released and burned toxic vinyl chloride from five rail cars, sending flames and black smoke high into the sky. That left people questioning the potential health impacts even as authorities maintained they were doing their best to protect people.

Norfolk Southern's accident rate spiked over the last decade


Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo

Mike Lee and Ellie Borst
Wed, March 8, 2023 

The country’s major freight railroads were becoming more dangerous even before the train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio, that sparked a chemical fire and weeks of political controversy.

Norfolk Southern Corp., whose train derailed in East Palestine a month ago, had the biggest increase in its accident rate over the last 10 years, rising nearly three times as fast as the industry average, according to an analysis by POLITICO’s E&E News of Federal Railroad Administration data.

"Clearly, more commonsense regulations are needed to prevent disasters from happening,” said Mike Schade, a leader of the advocacy group Toxic-Free Future, which advocates for safer chemicals policies. “And we now have a major environmental disaster on our hands as a result."

Norfolk Southern's accident rate jumped 80.8 percent between 2013 and 2022, to 3.658 accidents per million miles traveled, from 2.023. Norfolk is one of seven "Class 1" railroads. Overall, the group had 27 percent more accidents, a rate of 3.067 accidents per million miles traveled, up from a rate of 2.415 in 2013.

The increased accident rate comes as the chemical industry predicts a rise in the amount of chemicals that will be shipped by rail, trucks and other forms of transportation.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday the National Transportation Safety Board announced a special investigation into Norfolk Southern’s "safety culture" after the railroad had its third serious accident in just over a month.

Another Norfolk Southern train derailed Saturday in Springfield, Ohio, and a conductor for the railroad was killed Tuesday by a dump truck as a train was moving through a steel mill in Cleveland, the company said.

The conductor, 46-year-old Louis Shuster, was a father and an Army veteran who had worked at the railroad since 2005, according to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.

“The NTSB is concerned that several organizational factors may be involved in the accidents, including safety culture,” the safety board said in a news release.

The American Association of Railroads argues that the safety data E&E News reviewed includes minor collisions that happen in train yards and that the number of “main line” incidents like the one in East Palestine has been dropping.

“If you were going to look at the main line accidents … 2022 was the lowest year in history overall,” Mike Rush, the trade group’s senior vice president of operations and safety, said in an interview.

Norfolk Southern, whose CEO is due to testify in a Senate hearing Thursday, declined to comment on the federal safety data but said in a prepared statement that the company is committed to safety.

“We diligently monitor our trains and infrastructure to identify potential hazards, and we invest approximately a billion annually into maintaining our infrastructure every year,” the statement said.

About 19 percent of U.S. chemical output travels by rail, according to AAR. The bulk — 57 percent — moves by truck, and the remainder by ships, barges and pipelines.

Trucks by far have the highest incident rate.

Of all transportation incidents involving hazardous materials in 2022, trucks were responsible for nearly 94 percent, according to Bureau of Transportation statistics. Trains were responsible for a little more than 1 percent.

Truck accidents have been rising, along with other road accidents, for a variety of reasons, including speeding and distracted driving, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

"The road safety is nowhere near as good as rail safety,” said Nicholas Little, the director of railway education at Michigan State University. “There's less chance of a vehicle-to-vehicle accident … and, also, there's less habitation around the tracks, because it's not just freeways that the trucks will be going on, they'd be going on local roads, as well."

But not every chemical is suitable for rail transportation.

How chemicals are transported usually depends on the quantity needed and location of its final destination, Little said. And when rail accidents do happen, the potential for greater environmental damage is larger because trains can carry much bigger quantities of chemicals than trucks, he said.

"Even the biggest highway truck only carries a quarter of the volume that a railcar can carry,” Little said.

The FRA data includes derailments, collisions between trains and other on-rail problems. The numbers cover only the first 11 months of 2022.

Looking strictly at on-rail accidents, three of the freight railroads — Norfolk Southern, CSX Corp. and Union Pacific Corp. — had higher rates over the last 10 years.

Norfolk Southern had one of the lowest accident rates in 2013 and now has the second highest behind Union Pacific, which averaged 4.359 collisions per million miles last year.

The accident rate didn't appear correlated to the amount of freight on Norfolk Southern's system. The company's revenue ton mileage, a metric based on the revenue from one ton of freight shipped over one mile, rose from 2013 to 2018, before falling during the pandemic and bouncing back in the last two years, according to securities filings. Overall, the company had about an 8 percent drop in revenue ton miles over the last decade.

The accident rates at Union Pacific, CSX and Norfolk Southern are far lower than they were in the 1970s and '80s. But they also show a stark contrast to the other four Class 1 railroads — BNSF, Canadian National, Kansas City Southern and Canadian Pacific — where accident rates fell between 5 percent and 65 percent over the last decade.

Political oversight

To date, the bulk of the congressional investigations and other political fallout have focused on the Transportation Department and Environmental Protection Agency, not on the rise in accident rates across the industry.

Politicians from both parties have called for stricter safety standards, although it’s unclear if the proposals would have prevented the Ohio wreck.

The 149-car train derailed shortly before 9 p.m. on Feb. 3 just outside East Palestine, a town of about 4,700 that sits near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. An automated system detected an overheated wheel bearing on one of the cars, which triggered an alarm.

The crew was trying to stop the train when a section of it derailed. Thirty-eight cars left the tracks and several of them caught fire.

Some of the cars contained hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride and other chemicals. Vinyl chloride, which is used to make common types of plastic, is a carcinogen that creates poisonous gases when it burns, and it also poses an explosion risk.

Three days after the train derailed, local and state officials decided to release the vinyl chloride into a trench and conduct a controlled burn, rather than risk a larger explosion. No one was killed or seriously injured, but the fire sent up a plume of black smoke that left residents complaining about lung irritation and foul odors.

EPA has tested air quality in more than 500 homes, while state officials test the local water system; they have found no hazardous chemical levels. Independent tests by Texas A&M University found high levels of chemicals in the air, which could lead to health problems if the levels persist.

Norfolk Southern announced a series of safety improvements Monday, including assessing how frequently its hot bearing detectors are spaced and testing a new type of hot bearing detector and a new type of acoustic sensor. The company is also developing new technology to search for track defects and is working with the rest of the rail industry on setting standards for when hot bearing detectors should trigger an alarm.

Norfolk Southern and the other six major railroads announced last week that they’re joining a program that allows employees to confidentially report close calls among trains without fear of retaliation.

Safety advocates have used the wreck to call for tighter regulations on rails, calls that have been echoed by several officeholders and by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Since the accident, DOT has announced "targeted track inspections" for routes known to carry hazardous materials and issued a safety advisory for certain aluminum tank car covers, a part that is now known to have melted during the Ohio crash.

Republicans on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee have announced hearings into Buttigieg’s handling of the wreck, including when he knew about the derailment. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia asked Buttigieg for information about the adoption of a more modern braking system, known as electronically controlled pneumatic brakes.

The system allows engineers to activate the brakes simultaneously on every car in a train, which could help trains stop more quickly and smoothly. The conventional air brakes on most trains use an air hose that connects the locomotive to the freight cars, so it transmits the braking signal more slowly than an electronic signal.

Republican Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Marco Rubio of Florida sent a letter to Buttigieg asking about both the length of the train and the number of crew members on board. Last week, the two senators were part of a bipartisan group that introduced a railroad safety bill.

Long trains, short crews

The Federal Railroad Administration defines a train with 150 or more cars as “very long” — one more than the train that derailed in East Palestine.

A 2019 report by the Government Accountability Office said the number of long trains on the rails was increasing and said crew training “is particularly important for their safe operation.”

The FRA is currently writing rules that would require two-person crews on more freight trains. The industry has resisted the idea, saying that personnel decisions should be made by the companies and arguing that automation can safely reduce the number of crew members.

Automated trains have been operated safely in other countries, including in Australia, where they’re used to transport long trains of iron ore, said Allan Zarembski, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Delaware who specializes in railroads.

All the proposed solutions come with benefits and drawbacks, Zarembski said. Using electronically controlled brakes would improve a train’s stopping power, but it costs more than conventional air brakes. And the system would have to be widely adopted because railroads often haul carloads of hazardous materials mixed with other freights cars.

Electronically controlled braking systems “are at the top of the list” for suggested safety improvements on freight trains, said Little, of Michigan State University. “But when you're dealing with over 1.6 million rail cars that are in operation, it's a very, very big task."

Michael Gorman, a rail consultant and faculty at University of Dayton’s school of business administration, echoed industry concerns, warning of “unintended consequences of poorly thought-out legislation."

Expensive rail safety improvements would create a higher cost of shipping and could turn businesses away from trains and toward the more accident-prone trucks, Gorman said.

“Right now, we're in reaction mode, and overreaction is likely to be the results,” Gorman said.

In a 2015 report on rail safety that was written to help the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection cope with an influx of trains carrying crude oil, Zarembski made a series of recommendations.

Some of the steps are mundane, including slower speeds through populated area, while others are high-tech, such as more frequent use of automated track inspections. None of them were new ideas at the time, Zarembski said.

“I haven’t seen anything revolutionary coming down the pike … that’s being ignored by the railroad industry that’s an obvious no-brainer,” he said.

“I think the process is going to continue to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary.”

Railroads propose safety reforms after fiery Ohio derailment



Train Derailment Florida

This photo provided by the Manatee County Government shows a derailed freight train operated by Seminole Gulf Railway near Bradenton, Fla., on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. Officials in Florida are keeping a watchful eye on a train car carrying 30,000 gallons (113,562 liters) of propane that tipped over in a derailment in an industrial area near Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. (Steve Litschauer/Manatee County Government via AP)

JOSH FUNK
Wed, March 8, 2023 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The major freight railroads announced a number of steps Wednesday that they are taking to improve safety in the wake of last month’s fiery Ohio derailment, but it’s not clear if their actions will be enough to satisfy regulators and members of Congress who are pushing for changes.

Many of the proposals from the Association of American Railroads trade group focus on strengthening the network of trackside detectors that railroads use to spot problems before they can cause derailments. The railroads plan to do this by installing 1,000 more of the detectors nationwide and tweaking the way railroads use the data from them.

Norfolk Southern, the railroad responsible for the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border, proposed similar changes earlier this week, but the Federal Railroad Administration responded saying the company wasn't doing nearly enough.

And several members of Congress — led by Ohio's two senators — have proposed a sweeping package of rail reforms that go well beyond what the industry is proposing. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has also urged the railroads to make immediate changes.

Federal regulators didn't immediately respond Wednesday to questions about the industry's proposals. Congress plans to scrutinize Norfolk Southern's safety record and its response to the Ohio derailment at a Senate hearing Thursday morning that will also examine the reforms Ohio's senators proposed. Two federal agencies also announced broad investigations into Norfolk Southern's safety record Tuesday.

Overall, railroads are proud of their safety record, which reflects a decline in derailments over the past several years, and they like to tout the statistic that 99.9% of all hazardous materials shipments railroads handle reach their destinations safely. Still, there were 1,049 derailments nationwide last year — and the East Palestine one showed how even a single mishap involving hazardous materials can be disastrous.

“Rail is indisputably the safest way to move dangerous commodities,” AAR President Ian Jefferies said. “Yet we fully appreciate that these data do not comfort the residents of East Palestine and that public trust must be restored through action."

The major freight railroads — which include Norfolk Southern, CSX, Union Pacific, BNSF, Canadian Pacific, Kansas City Southern and Canadian National — said they will tighten up the spacing between the hot-bearing detectors to ensure they average no more than 15 miles (24 kilometers) apart along the main routes they use to transport hazardous chemicals. Currently, there are no federal rules on those detectors, which can be spaced up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) apart in places, though most of them are much closer together.

Rail safety expert Allan Zarembski said the existing network of detectors was already quite effective and allowed only a handful of derailments every year related to overheating bearings. But these changes will undoubtedly catch even more of these problems, said the University of Delaware professor who leads the railroad engineering and safety program there.

Zarembski said he believes these changes are likely to be “pretty effective.”

The railroads said they will also commit to stopping and inspecting any train that has a bearing that registers more than 170 degrees above the outside temperature. That’s in line with the standards Norfolk Southern already uses.

The National Transportation Safety Board has said the Norfolk Southern crew received a warning about an overheating bearing just before the derailment but wasn’t able to stop the train before 38 cars, including 11 carrying hazardous materials, jumped off the tracks and caught fire. About half the town of East Palestine — about 2,500 residents — had to evacuate a couple days later because officials were worried that five of the cars carrying vinyl chloride might explode. They then released the chemical and burned it off.

In addition to stopping trains anytime a bearing exceeds 170 degrees, the railroads also analyze the data from sensors all across their networks to identify problems even before a bearing hits that threshold. The trade group said all the major railroads plan to discuss ways to improve that analysis by the end of March.

The railroads said they also plan to train about 20,000 first responders nationwide this year to deal with hazardous materials incidents. As part of that, Norfolk Southern announced plans Wednesday to build a new regional training center in Ohio. Gov. Mike DeWine praised the effort.

“The derailment in East Palestine made clear that ensuring first responders are prepared for disasters involving hazardous materials is vitally important to the safety of communities,” DeWine said. “Often, first responders are volunteers, and their need to have the most up-to-date training and equipment is vitally important."

Buttigieg urges safety changes after fiery Ohio derailment





 HEPACO workers, an environmental and emergency services company, observe a stream in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 9, 2023, as the cleanup continues after the derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a package of reforms to improve safety Tuesday, Feb. 21 — two days after he warned the railroad responsible for the derailment, Norfolk Southern, to fulfill its promises to clean up the mess just outside East Palestine, and help the town recover. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

JOSH FUNK
Tue, February 21, 2023 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wants the nation’s freight railroads to immediately act to improve safety while regulators try to strengthen safety rules in the wake of a fiery derailment in Ohio that forced evacuations when toxic chemicals were released and burned.

Buttigieg announced a package of reforms Tuesday — two days after he warned the railroad responsible for the derailment, Norfolk Southern, to fulfill its promises to clean up the mess just outside East Palestine, Ohio, and help the town recover. He said the Department of Transportation will hold the railroad accountable for any safety violations that contributed to the Feb. 3 crash near the Pennsylvania border.

“While ensuring the safety of those impacted by this crash is the immediate priority, we also have to recognize that this represents an important moment to redouble our efforts to make this far less likely to happen again in the future," Buttigieg said.

Even though government data shows that derailments have declined in recent years, there were still 1,049 of them last year.

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency plans to return to the town of 4,700 Tuesday along with the governors of Ohio and Pennsylvania to discuss the cleanup and efforts to keep people safe on the same day officials plan to open a medical clinic staffed by contamination experts to evaluate residents' complaints. State and federal officials have reiterated that their testing of air and water samples in the area doesn't show dangerous levels of any toxins, but some people have been complaining about constant headaches and irritated eyes as they worry about returning to their homes.

Buttigieg said railroads and tank car owners should take action themselves to accelerate their plan to upgrade the tank cars that haul flammable liquids like crude oil and ethanol by 2025 instead of waiting to comply with the 2029 standard Congress ultimately approved after regulators suggested the earlier deadline. He also said freight railroads should quickly agree to use a confidential hotline regulators created that lets employees report safety concerns without fear of retribution, and reach agreements to provide their employees with paid sick time to help prevent fatigue.

He also wants railroads to stop asking for waivers from inspection requirements every time they develop new technology to improve inspections, because he said the technology should supplement but not replace human inspections.

Railroad unions have also been raising concerns that car inspections are being rushed and preventative maintenance may be getting neglected after widespread job cuts in the industry in recent years that they say have made railroads riskier. Greg Regan, president of the AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department coalition, said Ohio's derailment should prompt reforms.

“I do think that there’s a moment to look in the mirror as an entire industry and decide what we can do better,” Regan said. “I think the industry by and large has been reluctant to make the types of changes that are needed. They have obviously fought regulations in the past, but I think they are running out of excuses here.”

Buttigieg said regulators will be looking at whether they can revive a proposed rule the Trump administration dropped that would have required upgraded, electronically-controlled brakes on certain trains filled with flammable liquids that are designated “high-hazardous flammable train.” The rule was dropped after Congress directed regulators to use a strict cost-benefit analysis to evaluate the rule and they decided the potential benefits couldn't justify the costs.

Buttigieg said he'll ask Congress to “untie our hands here” on the braking rule, and regulators may look at expanding which trains are covered by the “high-hazardous” rules that were announced in 2015 after several fiery crude oil train derailments — the worst of which killed 47 people and decimated the Canadian town of Lac Mégantic in 2013. He also said Congress should raise the current $225,455 limit on railroad safety fines at least tenfold to create a better deterrent for the multibillion-dollar corporations.

Buttigieg criticized railroads for lobbying against the braking rule and challenging it in court. But railroad safety expert David Clarke, who previously led the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee, said the industry shouldn’t be criticized too heavily for pushing back against proposed regulations when there are questions about their benefits.

“The fact that you couch those in terms of safety makes it seem like it’s, you know, mom, God and apple pie — anything safety related is sacred,” Clarke said. “But the bottom line is companies have to look at the benefits and the cost of any expenditure.”

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine was incredulous when he learned the Norfolk Southern train that derailed didn’t carry that designation, meaning that the railroad didn’t have to notify the state about the dangerous chemicals it was carrying or follow detailed requirements about finding the safest route for those chemicals.

“This is absurd,” DeWine said. “Congress needs to take a look at how this is handled.”

Regulators and the Association of American Railroads trade group say there are hundreds of pages of other rules railroads must follow when they transport any hazardous chemicals, whether it is the vinyl chloride that has gotten so much attention in this derailment, crude oil, nuclear materials or any of the hundreds of other dangerous chemicals that railroads routinely carry.

It’s not clear whether the “high-hazardous” rules could have prevented this derailment. The federal National Transportation Safety Board is in the early stages of its investigation, although officials with that agency have said they believe the failure of an axle on one of the railcars not long after the train crew got a warning about a possible mechanical problem caused this crash.

The Federal Railroad Administration will also work to finalize its proposed rule to require two-person crews in most circumstances that Buttigieg pointed to as one of the Biden administration's main efforts to improve rail safety over the past two years.

The president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, Eddie Hall, said he believes the freight railroads' efforts to cut crews down to one person represent a clear threat to safety.

“Railroads in the United States largely self-regulate, and right now, rather than learn from their mistakes and improve oversight and safety, they are going in the opposite direction,” Hall said. “We welcome efforts by the Department of Transportation to improve rail safety.”

Norfolk Southern officials declined to respond directly to Buttigieg on Monday other than to reiterate the railroad’s commitment to safety and to cleaning up the derailment. CEO Alan Shaw said in a statement the railroad reissued Monday that he knows the railroad will be judged by its actions, but he pledged to do everything he could to help “get East Palestine back on its feet as soon as possible.”

As part of those efforts, the railroad said it has designated one of its local employees who lives in the town as a liaison between East Palestine and Norfolk Southern. That person will oversee a $1 million budget to help the community in addition a $1 million fund the railroad created to help residents and $3.4 million in payments it has already handed out to families. Those payments are likely just the start, as the EPA has said Norfolk Southern will be responsible for the cleanup costs and several lawsuits have already been filed against the railroad.

University of Illinois professor Christopher Barkan, who teaches a class on railroad operating safety and advises the industry on tank car safety standards and environmental concerns, said he believes the railroad will follow through.

“I haven’t the slightest doubt that Norfolk Southern is going to be responsive, and continue to be responsive. until all of the environmental problems have been addressed,” Barkan said. “I understand why the people in that town are really concerned right now. It’s a horrible thing to have happen in your town.”

Buttigieg urges U.S. railroads to boost safety, not oppose reforms






Members of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inspect the site of a train derailment of hazardous material in East Palestine

Sun, February 19, 2023 By David Shepardson

(Reuters) -U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday he would call on major railroads to improve safety after a Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, of a train operated by Norfolk Southern.

Buttigieg in a letter to Norfolk Southern Chief Executive Alan Shaw said he would also urge Congress to raise the cap on fines against railroads for violating safety regulations "to ensure their deterrent effect is commensurate with the economic proportions of today's large railroad companies."

Buttigieg said he would soon outline specific safety improvements railroads should take immediately. He harshly criticized them for lobbying against steps "intended to improve rail safety and to help keep Americans safe."

"Major derailments in the past have been followed by calls for reform – and by vigorous resistance by your industry to increased safety measures. This must change," Buttigieg wrote.

Buttigieg has faced harsh criticism from many Republicans in Congress for his response to the derailment of the train loaded with toxic chemicals that caused a fire and sent a cloud of smoke over the town that forced thousands of residents to evacuate while railroad crews drained and burned off chemicals.

No fatalities or injuries have been reported, but residents have been demanding answers about potential health risks.

Buttigieg's letter emphasized "the urgent need for Norfolk Southern to demonstrate unequivocal support for the people of East Palestine and the surrounding areas."

Norfolk Southern said Sunday it "received a copy of the letter from the secretary and are reviewing." Shaw said last week the railroad had established an initial $1 million community support fund and distributed $1.7 million in direct financial assistance to more than 1,100 families and businesses to cover evacuation costs.

"We will not let you down," he told residents in a letter.

Buttigieg's letter said that in response to many derailments, two U.S. agencies had finalized rules on high-hazard flammable trains and Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) braking.

"Rather than support these efforts to improve rail safety, Norfolk Southern and other rail companies spent millions of dollars in the courts and lobbying members of Congress to oppose common-sense safety regulations, stopping some entirely and reducing the scope of others," Buttigieg wrote.

"As a result, Congress enacted language that undermined the ability of USDOT to sustain the ECP brake requirements, and they were ultimately withdrawn under the Trump administration."

Buttigieg said he also planned to outline "prioritized actions planned" by the U.S. Department of Transportation on rail safety.

In response to the derailment, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell Friday opened an inquiry into railroad hazardous materials safety practices.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee said Friday it planned to hold a hearing on the derailment.

In a letter to Shaw and CEOs of major railroad companies, Cantwell said "every railroad must reexamine its hazardous materials safety practices to better protect its employees, the environment, and American families and reaffirm safety as a top priority."

The companies included Berkshire Hathaway's Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, CSX, Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific.

A group representing major railroads said last week 99.9% of all hazmat shipments reach their destination without incident and the hazmat accident rate has declined by 55% since 2012.

(Reporting by David Shepardson in Franconia, New Hampshire; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Richard Chang and Diane Craft)

A GOP senator says Republican lawmakers are frustrated with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg because he wants 'everything to be climate and politically correct'

John L. Dorman
Sun, February 19, 2023 

West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito has raised concerns about Pete Buttigieg's tenure as Transportation secretary.

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Hill Republicans are increasingly voicing their issues with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Sen. Capito told The Hill that Buttigieg had a "push" for everything "to be climate and politically correct."

The Department of Transportation has defended Buttigieg's performance in handling recent crises.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has made it his mission to champion President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law, traveling to various sites across the country to tout major projects that have gotten off the ground thanks to the legislation.

But he has also had to tackle an array of major crises, including a Southwest Airlines system meltdown that affected roughly 2 million travelers in late December, a Federal Aviation Administration system outage that wreaked havoc on flights in January, and a February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that resulted in the release of toxic chemicals into the air.

Buttigieg has sought to reassure Americans that his department is working closely with officials and lawmakers regarding each of the respective incidents, but many Republicans in Congress have so far not been enthralled with his job performance. The GOP lawmakers have expressed dismay with what they say is outreach that is insufficient compared to other members of Biden's cabinet.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, who represents a state with vast rural expanses and critical infrastructure needs, told The Hill that Buttigieg's "philosophical push for everything to be climate and politically correct" is at the center of issues that Republican lawmakers have raised.

"We have practical matters we need to do like permitting and building new roads and having new constructions and he pretty much puts his foot down on a lot of that stuff," she told the publication. "He's just not leading and I think that's the frustration."

Senate Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota told The Hill that Buttigieg's management style wasn't as "hands on" as other Biden officials.

"My sense is that he, like many others in the administration, are not the types of, sort of, hands on managers that you need at a time like that," the senator said. "I think part of it too is just the efforts he makes. … Some members of the cabinet, particularly on the relevant committees, the committees of jurisdiction, do a really good job of outreach and I don't get that from him."

Secretary Buttigieg has been a vocal champion of President Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law.

AP Photo/John Minchillo

Other Republican lawmakers, notably Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, have been critical of Buttigieg for what they've said was his lack of visibility immediately after the East Palestine derailment.

"I understand that the secretary is politically ambitious, and he'd like to move to government housing in Washington right up the street, but he does have a job to do," Cruz told reporters last week, referencing the expectation that Buttigieg will run for the presidency again someday. (Buttigieg ran for president in 2020 and performed strongly in Iowa and New Hampshire before faltering in South Carolina and exiting the race.)

Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio during a recent appearance on the Real America's Voice suggested impeaching Buttigieg over his response to the train derailment.

"I hope he does resign, and if he doesn't, there's a long list of impeachment criteria," Davidson told the outlet.

Democrats contend that the criticism of Buttigieg is purely political.

"Before, if you got your flight delayed, you weren't like 'oh that damn Elaine Chao,'" a Democratic operative told The Hill, referring to former President Donald Trump's transportation secretary. "That's the downside that comes with being such a good public figure."

The Department of Transportation has stood by its response as it works with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Environmental Protection Agency, remarking that the department and staffers "were on the ground hours after the derailment" to aid the NTSB in their investigation.

"It's no surprise to see some playing politics with every crisis, even something as serious as the impacts of a global pandemic on our transportation systems or a train derailment," a Department of Transportation spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the secretary was maintaining a "focus on getting results."

TDG

Train derailments get more headlines, but truck crashes involving hazardous chemicals are more frequent and deadly in US

Michael F. Gorman, Professor of Business Analytics and Operations Management, University of Dayton
Tue, February 21, 2023 

A trooper checks the tire of a truck carrying flammable contents during a random hazmat checkpoint in Colorado. Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Less than two weeks after train cars filled with hazardous chemicals derailed in Ohio and caught fire, a truck carrying nitric acid crashed on a major highway outside Tucson, Arizona, killing the driver and releasing toxic chemicals into the air.

The Arizona hazmat disaster shut down Interstate 10, a major cross-country highway, and forced evacuations in surrounding neighborhoods.

But the highway crash didn’t draw national attention the way the train derailment did, or trigger a flood of calls for more trucking regulation like the U.S. is seeing for train regulation. Truck crashes tend to be local and less dramatic than a pile of derailed train cars on fire, even if they’re deadlier.


In fact, federal data shows that rail has had far fewer incidents, deaths and damage when moving hazardous materials in the U.S. than trucks.

After the train derailment and fire in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2023, the U.S. EPA tested over 500 homes. It reported that none exceeded air quality standards for the chemicals tested. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Trucks carry more hazmat and more risk

At one time, rail and water were the only options for transporting chemicals and other potentially dangerous materials. The emergence of the automobile and subsequent construction of the interstate highway system changed that, and hazardous materials shipments by road steadily increased.

Today, trucks carry the largest percentage of hazardous materials shipped in the U.S. – about twice as much as trains when measured in ton-miles, according to the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ latest data, for 2017. A ton-mile is one ton shipped for one mile.

While truck incidents involving hazardous materials don’t look as dramatic as train derailments and are not as widely covered by news media, federal data shows they represent more fatalities and property damage, and there are thousands more of them every year.

Truck-related hazardous materials incidents caused over 16 times more fatalities from 1975 to 2021 – 380 for truck, compared with 23 for rail, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The difference is more pronounced in the last decade, when U.S. rail transportation of hazardous materials caused zero fatalities and truck incidents were responsible for 83.

Trucks have also caused nearly three times as much property damage as rail incidents since 2000. That might seem surprising since derailments can involve several cars with hazardous materials. But most rail events take place in remote areas, limiting their human impact, while trucks travel on highways with other drivers around and often in busy urban areas.
Where do we go from here?

I study rail systems and regulation, and I have followed the increasing costs to the industry to comply with tightening regulatory rules.

Shipping hazardous materials in the U.S. has been regulated for over 150 years. A deadly explosion in San Francisco in 1866 involving a just-arrived cargo of nitroglycerin, used for blasting rock, led to the first federal laws regulating shipping explosives and flammable materials.

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks spurred a vast expansion of regulation over movement of hazardous materials. Many cities now have hazardous materials routes for trucks that circumvent city centers to reduce the potential risk to high-population areas.

With the Ohio train derailment now making national news, lawmakers are focusing on regulations specifically for rail.

Ohio’s governor wants rail companies to be required to notify states of all hazardous shipments. This knee-jerk reaction to a major event would appear to be a responsible demand with relatively low costs, but it would have no impact whatsoever on prevention of hazmat events.

Activists are calling for more expensive investments, including requirements for heat sensors on train bearings, which appeared to have been involved in the Ohio derailment, and the restoration of a rule requiring advanced braking systems for trains carrying hazardous materials. Both would raise the cost of rail shipping and could wind up putting more hazardous materials shipments on U.S. roads. The Trump administration repealed the braking system requirement in 2017, arguing that the costs outweighed the benefits.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, speaking with reporters, discussed looking into new rules for advanced braking systems, higher fines and encouraging rail companies to speed up their phase-in of more puncture-resistant tank cars.

On Feb. 14, 2023, a truck carrying hazardous materials crashed on busy Interstate 10 near homes outside Tucson, Ariz., killing the driver and forcing an interstate shutdown and evacuations. 

Arizona Department of Public Safety via AP

Rail is still more economical and better for the environment than trucks for longer distances, but with ever-increasing regulations, rail transport can be economically and logistically discouraged – chasing more traffic to far more dangerous roadways.

If the concern is the public’s exposure to hazardous materials, regulation on road-based hazardous materials transportation should expand as well.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation is trustworthy news from experts. Try our free newsletters.

It was written by: Michael F. Gorman, University of Dayton.

Read more:

How dangerous was the Ohio chemical train derailment? An environmental engineer assesses the long-term risks

How vinyl chloride, chemical released in the Ohio train derailment, can damage the liver – it’s used to make PVC plastics

Despite disasters, oil-by-rail transport is getting safer

As an expert in rail policy, Michael Gorman has consulted with railroad companies over the past 20 years. He worked for BNSF in the 1990s.

CSX revamps attendance policy as railroad unions push back on sick time


 A CSX freight train blasts through high snow at a crossing in Silver Spring


Tue, December 13, 2022 
By Lisa Baertlein and Rod Nickel

(Reuters) -Rail operator CSX Corp is changing its workforce attendance policy for unexpected, short-term medical absences next year after U.S. railroads' sick-time policies became a flashpoint in national labor talks.

CSX is among the railroads that used so-called points-based attendance policies to reduce unplanned absences. Under the long-established policies, workers are penalized with points for unscheduled absences, and risk being suspended or fired.

The scheme came under fire during the pandemic, when industry-wide job cuts meant to bolster profits left fewer workers to manage the COVID-related cargo surge.

Rail unions are protesting the lack of federal intervention on sick-time policies outside the U.S. Capitol and in cities around the country on Tuesday.

On Dec. 2, U.S. President Joe Biden signed legislation that broke the impasse that could have halted shipments of food, fuel and medicine, stranded commuters and harmed the U.S. economy without making any changes to sick-time agreements.

When the pandemic struck and freight volumes surged, affected rail workers said those policies discouraged them from seeking medical care or taking time off to recover from illness.

Under the new policy effective Jan. 1, CSX said on Tuesday it will no longer assess points when an employee calls in sick shortly before a scheduled workday with an illness for which they saw a doctor.

CSX's new attendance rules will be "non-disciplinary and non-punitive," the company said in an email to Reuters.

Four of 12 unions involved in the latest railroad contract talks rejected a recently negotiated deal because it did not include any paid short-term sick days and failed to address the attendance points system used by CSX and the two largest U.S. railroads: Union Pacific and Berkshire Hathaway-owned BNSF.

Under the new CSX policy, accrued points will expire on a rolling 12-month cycle rather than accumulate indefinitely, and employees will receive credit for working without an absence and can use those to expunge points. CSX said it does not apply points when employees miss work due to hospitalization or emergency treatment.

Clark Ballew, a former CSX track worker and communications director for the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED) rail union, said the changes are a step in the right direction, but fall short of repairing damage from industry cost-cutting.

Union Pacific told Reuters it expects to start working with unions on quality of life issues in the coming weeks. BNSF did not immediately respond to questions regarding its policy on health-related absences.

On Friday, more than 70 lawmakers urged Biden to take executive action to guarantee rail workers paid sick days.

Meanwhile, Canada on Dec. 1 granted workers at railroads and other regulated workplaces at least 10 days of paid sick leave annually. Canada's two biggest freight railways, Canadian National Railway Co and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd, have about 10,000 employees in the United States. Collective bargaining with U.S. workers will determine sick-day requirements, the railways said.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg;

Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Matthew Lewis and Kim Coghill)

Rail workers say deal won’t resolve quality-of-life concerns
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

DECEMBER 3, 2022

Rail strike threat recedes as Congress prepares to impose unpopular contract on unions. Shipping containers and rail cars sit in a Union Pacific Intermodal Terminal rail yard on November 21, in Los Angeles. Mandatory Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — When BNSF railroad conductor Justin Schaaf needed to take time off from work this summer, he had to make a choice: go to the dentist to get a cavity in his molar filled or attend a party for his son’s 7th birthday.

He chose his son.

“Ultimately I decided to take the day off for my kid’s birthday party,” Schaaf said. “Then when I am finally able to get into the dentist four, five, six months later, the tooth is too bad to repair at that point, so I have to get the tooth pulled out.”

Those are the kind of tradeoffs that railroad workers worry they might still have to make after Congress voted this week to impose a contract on them to avoid the economic disaster that would accompany a railroad strike. Workers and their unions say the deal didn’t do enough to address their quality-of-life concerns and didn’t add any sick days.

President Joe Biden signed a bill Friday to block a strike and force workers to accept the agreements union leaders made in September, even though four of the 12 unions — which include a majority of rail workers — voted to reject them. Business groups had been urging Biden to intervene for weeks.

For Schaaf, he’s not sure if the new contract will make it any easier to find another day off sometime next year to pay to have a fake tooth implanted in his mouth.

“If I had the option of taking a sick day … I would have never been in that situation,” he said from his home in Glasgow, Montana.

Schaaf said it was discouraging, but not surprising, to see Congress step in to settle the contract dispute ahead of next Friday’s strike deadline. Lawmakers have made a habit of stepping in to impose contracts when railroads and their unions reach the brink of a strike — 18 times since the passage of the 1926 Railway Labor Act, by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s count — because of the potential economic consequences.

Many businesses rely on railroads to deliver raw materials and ship their final products, so a rail strike would send a catastrophic ripple through the economy. Passenger railroads also would be disrupted because so many use tracks owned by the freight railroads.

The five-year deals that rail workers wound up with include 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses. But concerns about the lack of paid sick time and the demanding schedules that unions say make it hard for workers to ever take a day off dominated the contract talks. The rail unions say they weren’t able to get more concessions out of the railroads because the big companies knew Congress would intervene.

The railroads refused to add paid sick days to the deal at the end of three years of negotiations because they didn’t want to pay much more than a special board of arbitrators appointed by Biden recommended this summer. Plus, the railroads say the unions have agreed over the years to forego paid sick leave in favor of higher wages and strong short-term disability benefits that kick in after as little as four days.

The railroads agreed to offer three unpaid days for engineers and conductors to tend to medical needs as long as they are scheduled at least 30 days in advance. They also promised to negotiate further to improve the way regular days off are scheduled to help workers better know when they will be off.

But to retired engineer Jeff Kurtz, there is still a lot of work to be done to restore the quality of life he enjoyed before he left the railroad eight years ago. He doubts rail workers today would be able to get time off for key family events on short notice the way he did when he found out his son was getting his doctorate right before Christmas in 2009.

“You hear when you hire out on the railroad you’re going to miss some things. But you’re not supposed to miss everything,” said Kurtz, who remains active even in retirement with the Railroad Workers United coalition that includes workers from every union. “You shouldn’t miss your kids growing up. You shouldn’t miss the seminal moments in your family’s life.”

Over the past six years, the major railroads have eliminated nearly one-third of their jobs as they overhauled operations, making the work more demanding for those who remain.

The unions say they won’t stop fighting for more paid sick leave, but now they may have to wait for negotiations on the next contract beginning in 2025.

The head of the Association of American Railroads trade group, Ian Jefferies, acknowledged “there is more to be done to further address our employees’ work-life balance concerns” but he said the compromise deals that Congress voted to impose should help make schedules more predictable while delivering the biggest raises rail workers have seen in more than four decades.

1933

Why paid sick leave 

became a big issue in 

rail labor talks

Unions say rail carriers cut too much in the name of efficiency, 

leaving them with too few workers to cover for absent colleagues.

By Julian Mark

December 3, 2022

With an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote on Thursday, the Senate forced itself between freight railroad companies and their unions — an action that averted a national rail strike and potential economic catastrophe, but which failed to provide workers with a component they aggressively sought: paid sick leave.

On Wednesday, the House approved two versions of a deal meant to stave off a Dec. 9 strike by rail workers. One echoed the recommendations that union leaders and the White House agreed to in September. The other, pushed by liberal Democrats, included seven paid sick days for rail workers.

The Senate ultimately approved the option without the added paid sick leave, and President Biden signed it. The terms mirror those in the agreement the White House brokered in September, including a roughly 24 percent pay increase by 2024, more flexibility to take time off for doctor’s appointments, and a paid personal day.

After forcing rail deal, Biden works to smooth over labor relations

So why was paid sick leave such a sticking point — and why didn’t workers get it?

Rail carriers have said they need to maintain their attendance policies to ensure adequate staffing. Some industry experts and union officials say the companies no longer have enough workers to cover for absent colleagues because of the switch in recent years to “precision scheduled railroading,” a system designed to improve efficiency and cut costs. Instead of running trains that carried just one type of product — which left trains waiting for long stretches before they had enough load to depart — rail companies now have more trains carrying a mix of goods on a set schedule. Fixed scheduling allows them to use the same crew more often than they could have under the old system.

President Biden on Dec. 1 defended the deal that he negotiated to avoid a rail worker strike and said he would continue to push for paid leave for all workers. (Video: The Washington Post)

From November 2018 to December 2020, the rail industry lost 40,000 jobs, according to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureau described precision scheduling as possibly the “most widely accredited reason for the decrease in rail transportation employment,” although the pandemic, uncertainties in trade and a decline U.S. coal usage also hurt the industry.

Wall Street at the time cheered the transition to a new system. In 2019, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific stocks rose 30 percent, and shares of Kansas City Southern jumped more than 60 percent.

But the labor force cuts “led to this kind of crisis of work-life balance,” said Todd Vachon, a Rutgers University labor professor who sees short staffing as “a model of maximizing profits to have high returns for shareholders.”

And unions say precision scheduled railroading leaves little room to give workers the benefits they need.

“There is a direct connection to these business decisions that the railroads have made — either PSR by itself or just these attendance policies that’s an offshoot of PSR — forcing people to work more than any average American worker wants to do or can do,” said Dennis Pierce, the national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, an influential union that narrowly voted to ratify the White House proposal.

Brendan Branon, chairman of the National Railway Labor Conference, who represented the industry at the bargaining table, rejected the idea that paid sick leave represented a sticking point in labor talks. “All rail employees have some form of paid sick leave,” he said in a statement to The Post.

A spokeswoman for the Association of American Railroads, Jessica Kahanek, pointed to a list that includes several leave options, such as a system in which sick employees can temporarily remove themselves from a roster of available workers, as well as time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act. And all employees have a long-term sickness benefit that can pay a portion of the worker’s income for up to 26 weeks, the rail association said.

But time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act is unpaid, according to the Department of Labor. And the system that allows employees to remove themselves from availability is unpaid, union lawyer Richard Edelman said. Workers also could be disciplined for using it, he added.

Moreover, the long-term sickness benefit is meant for more serious illnesses or injuries, he said, and would not help employees who get the flu, for example, or need emergency dental surgery. “All of those things that are one- or two-day things — railroad employees don’t have that,” Edelman said.

Tony Hatch, a longtime industry analyst, said the financial community wants a more constructive relationship between railroad management and their workers.

“We don’t want to see semi-slave labor here,” he said. “We want to see a happy workforce because the railroads have terrific opportunity to recapture … market share.”

The negative effects of scheduled railroading and related staff reductions are a “boogeyman” that has been overblown, Hatch said. But he said that the system has made the industry more fragile and needs more flexibility to deal with emergency situations such as the coronavirus pandemic and sick workers.

“One of the things that you need to run a scheduled railroad is crew availability,” Hatch said. “And if people are quitting, you need to do something about that.”

The rail labor conference’s Brannon said workers and companies must keep talking.

“While the bargaining round has concluded, conversations about bringing greater predictability and work-life balance for railroaders will continue,” he said.

Vachon, the labor professor, said that nothing should prevent rail companies from providing their employees with paid sick leave. He said it comes down to paying for more workers and maintaining a rotating pool of people to cover shifts while others are out.

“There’s nothing inherent about the railroad industry to make paid sick leave unsustainable,” he said, adding that rail workers in Europe have the benefit. “This idea that it’s not possible is really just a cop-out. … The companies are deciding how to spend their resources, and they’re spending the money to buy back their stocks and give dividends to shareholders rather than investing in their workers.