FRA announces plan to conduct safety assessment of Norfolk Southern’s operations

Following Atlanta-based Class I railroad carrier Norfolk Southern (NS) roll out of a six-point plan this week to “immediately enhance the safety of its operation,” which was based on preliminary findings made by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) after an NS train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3, the United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today said it will be conducting a 60-day assessment of NS, related to the derailments and other NS safety-related incidents.

“After a series of derailments and the death of one of its workers, we are initiating this further supplemental safety review of Norfolk Southern, while also calling on Norfolk Southern to act urgently to improve its focus on safety so the company can begin earning back the trust of the public and its employees,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement. “This comes as USDOT continues its own urgent actions to further improve freight rail safety and accountability.” 

FRA said its safety team will review the findings and recommendations of the 2022 Norfolk Southern system audit and revisit FRA’s recommendations and the scope of the railroad’s responses. And it also noted it will assess various operational elements, including: 

• Track, signal, and rolling stock maintenance, inspection, and repair practices; 
• Protection for employees working on rail infrastructure, locomotives, and rail cars; 
• Communication between transportation departments and mechanical and engineering staff; 
• Operation control center procedures and dispatcher training; 
• Compliance with federal Hours of Service regulations; 
• Evaluating results of operational testing of employees’ execution and comprehension of all applicable operating rules and federal regulations; 
• Training and qualification programs available to all railroad employees, including engineer and conductor training and certification; 
• Maintenance, inspection, and calibration policies and procedures for wayside defect detectors; 
• Procedures related to all wayside defect detector alerts; 
• Measures implemented to prevent employee fatigue, including the development and implementation of fatigue management programs required as part of FRA’s Risk Reduction Program (RRP) rule; and
• Current status of the hazard and risk analysis required by the RRP rule

FRA’s safety team will review the findings and recommendations of the 2022 Norfolk Southern system audit and revisit FRA’s recommendations and the scope of the railroad’s responses. In addition, FRA will assess the following operational elements: 

• Track, signal, and rolling stock maintenance, inspection, and repair practices; 
• Protection for employees working on rail infrastructure, locomotives, and rail cars; 
• Communication between transportation departments and mechanical and engineering staff; 
• Operation control center procedures and dispatcher training; 
• Compliance with federal Hours of Service regulations; 
• Evaluating results of operational testing of employees’ execution and comprehension of all applicable operating rules and federal regulations; 
• Training and qualification programs available to all railroad employees, including engineer and conductor training and certification; 
• Maintenance, inspection, and calibration policies and procedures for wayside defect detectors; 
• Procedures related to all wayside defect detector alerts; 
• Measures implemented to prevent employee fatigue, including the development and implementation of fatigue management programs required as part of FRA’s Risk Reduction Program (RRP) rule; and
• Current status of the hazard and risk analysis required by the RRP rule

“Information collected through the supplemental safety assessment will exceed the scope of existing FRA audits, providing a more expansive look at Norfolk Southern’s overall safety culture and operations,” said FRA. “The information gathered will be used to target specific areas for FRA’s oversight and enforcement efforts and help identify risks beyond the reach of current federal regulations. Finally, FRA will use the information collected to push Norfolk Southern to develop measures to mitigate risks while identifying appropriate enforcement actions. FRA will issue a public report on its findings.”  

The FRA added that given recent events, Norfolk Southern and all major freight railroads must be taking immediate steps to prioritize safety training and culture along with operational actions that match the severity of recent incidents, also noting that Norfolk Southern must prioritize the safety and well-being of its workers as well as the millions of individuals living near routes on which they operate.   

In a February 14 update, NTSB said that as a result of the derailment, 38 rail cars derailed and a fire ensued which damaged an additional 12 cars, adding that there were 20 total hazardous material cars in the train—11 of which derailed. And on February 23, in its preliminary report, it said that surveillance video from a local residence showed what appeared to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment. It added that the wheel bearing and affected wheelset were collected as evidence to be examined by the NTSB. What’s more, the NTSB said on March 3 that it is examining aluminum protective housing covers used on three of the vinyl chloride tank cars that derailed in February.  

In announcing the company’s six-point plan earlier this week, NS CEO Alan Shaw said that the NTSB report makes it clear that meaningful safety improvements require a comprehensive industry effort that brings together railcar and tank car manufacturers, railcar owners and lessors, and the railroad companies, adding that NS is eager to help drive that effort and we are not waiting to take action.”

The company’s six-point plan is comprised of the following initiatives:

• Enhancing the hot bearing detector network by evaluating the distance between hot bearing detectors, which currently averages 13.9 miles on its core network, and examining every location on its core network where the distance is more than 15 miles and develop a plan to deploy additional detectors where practical due to terrain and operating conditions.  NS anticipates adding approximately 200 hot bearing detectors to its network, with the first installed on the western approach to East Palestine;
• Piloting next-generation hot bearing detectors and working with manufacturers to accelerate the testing and deployment of safety technology on its network that can scan a greater cross-section of a railcar's bearings and wheels. NS said these so-called “multi-scan” hot bearing detectors may offer the potential to catch overheated bearings more effectively;
• Working with industry on practices for hot bearing detectors.  Norfolk Southern intends to work with the industry on a comprehensive review of standards and practices for the use of hot bearing detectors.  In addition to reevaluating the temperature threshold at which an alarm is triggered, the company plans to work with peers to analyze data for patterns that could provide earlier warnings of potential safety issues.  Norfolk Southern also plans to partner with other railroads to review best practices, including response to high-temperature alarms;
• Deploying more acoustic bearing detectors.  NS will immediately accelerate the deployment of acoustic bearing detectors, which play a different role in its safety inspection program.  These detectors analyze the acoustic signature of vibration inside the axle and can identify potential problems that a visual inspection could not.  Norfolk Southern will add 13 new detectors to the five already in service, stationing these devices on high-traffic routes around our core network.  This will strengthen the early-warning system that identifies potential risks before they become issues;
• Accelerate its Digital Train Inspection program.  NS is partnering with Georgia Tech Research Institute to develop a next generation of its most advanced safety inspection technology, which uses machine vision and algorithms powered by artificial intelligence to identify defects and needed repairs much more effectively than traditional human inspection.  Ultra-high-resolution cameras stationed in strategic locations around its network will give Norfolk Southern a 360-degree health check on railcars, improving its ability to detect, diagnose, and repair defects before they become issues.  The company is accelerating the installation of the next phase of this new technology on its Premier Corridor, which connects the Midwest and Northeast and is the line that runs through East Palestine; and
• Supporting a strong safety culture. Norfolk Southern has agreed to join the Federal Railroad Administration's Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS). By joining the program, Norfolk Southern is building upon its own long-standing Close Call Experience Program, which encourages railroaders to speak up if they see something that is unsafe

Earlier today, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) heralded steps it is taking focused on a future with zero incidents and zero injuries, “one where what happened in East Palestine never happens again,” it said, adding that the industry believes that the February 3rd derailment and its aftermath require railroads and freight shippers alike to lead with actions that restore trust and that will make a difference in the march toward zero.

“Healthy railroads are essential to the U.S. economy, and consistently and reliably safe operations are essential to healthy railroads,” said Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and CEO Ian Jefferies. “Our long history of voluntarily employing safety measures that go above and beyond federal requirements proves our belief in that principle. While we will continue to follow the National Transportation Safety Board’s ongoing investigation in Ohio closely and recognize its deliberate, methodical, and fact-based approach, railroads are committed to taking appropriate steps now.”

Soon after the NS derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) issued a memorandum on the situation, replete with information on the current situation and adding that “railroads take their responsibility to move goods critical to the economy safely across the country seriously.”

“Interested parties should let the investigation proceed,” said AAR. “As the NTSB’s work continues, any speculation as to the cause or contributing factors that lead to the incident is just that—speculation—and undermines the overall fact-gathering process. Additionally, immediate pushes for legislative or regulatory action absent of NTSB results and in response to the accident is premature at best—and opportunistic at worst. Interested parties should consider the available facts on rail safety, immediate ‘solutions’ to enhance safety permeating some coverage and the potential motivations of the loudest voices alleging a fundamental failure in U.S. railroading.”

Taking that a step further, AAR cited an Associated Press report stating that the railroad industry is generally regarded as the safest option for most goods, with federal data showing that accidents involving hazardous materials are “exceedingly rare.” It also cited a USA Today report indicating that the last reported death from a hazardous material on a train was in 2011.

“Overall, railroads are safe,” said AAR. “While 99.9% of all hazmat shipments reach their destination without impact, the less than .1% have the potential to dramatically impact the communities serve. Railroads take this responsibility seriously and have no higher priority than safety. The industry’s first goal is to prevent an accident before it can happen. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave rail its highest grade in their infrastructure report card in part because of the annual $20 billion in private investments in maintaining and improving network. At its core, a well-maintained railroad is a safe one and thanks in part to those investments rail remains the safest way to move hazmat overland.”

AAR also said that going back to 2012, the hazmat accident rate has come down 55% and over the last 10 years, less than 1% of all train accidents have resulted in a hazmat release.