Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw was under fire in the Senate about a series of train derailments since early February. Hours before the hearing about 30 cars derailed off the tracks on Thursday morning in Calhoun, Alabama.
Fire officials said that no hazardous materials were leaked in Alabama. But Norfolk Southern is being criticised on social media after the company’s third such incident this month.
A Norfolk Southern train derailed last week in Springfield, Ohio. As many as 28 cars went off the rails, the company said. No one was injured. The incident, on Saturday, took place a month after an accident in East Palestine, Ohio. A train carrying hazardous materials derailed, causing a leak of toxic chemicals.
Norfolk Southern representatives responding to the Alabama scene said, “There is NO danger to the public” in its statement. The agency said the train originated in Atlanta, Georgia and was traveling westbound to Meridian, Mississippi.
The incident sparked mass evacuations and contaminated 1.1 million gallons of water and 15,000 pounds of soil in the small community.
In his testimony on Capitol Hill, Shaw promised millions of dollars to help the town but stopped short of backing a Senate bill that would tighten industry-wide safety regulations.
“I’m terribly sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the folks of that community. We’re going to be there for as long as it takes to help East Palestine thrive and recover,” Shaw said.
There were no injuries in last month’s derailment, but state and local officials have decided to release and burn toxic vinyl chloride, sending clouds of acrid black smoke billowing into the sky.
In Thursday’s hearing, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown condemned the operator for prioritizing profits over public safety “by cutting cost at all costs.”
