In Calhoun County, Alabama, a Norfolk Southern train en route to Mississippi derailed on Thursday, mere hours before embattled CEO Alan Shaw testified in front of Congress regarding the previous derailment on February 3rd in East Palestine, Ohio that led to the disastrous chemical spill.
Unlike in Ohio, there were no reported leaks of hazardous chemicals. It’s not clear what caused 30 cars to go off the rails in the early hours of the morning, but nobody was hurt. A spokesman from Norfolk Southern said the train was mostly mixed freight.
“Mr. Shaw, the news is reporting that there’s just been a significant derailment in Alabama of one of your trains. I certainly hope that all of your team and anybody in the vicinity is safe and well,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said at the congressional Thursday. “You may need to look into that.”
The National Transportation Safety Board earlier launched a special investigation of Norfolk Southern Railway following several derailments and “significant accidents.”
Despite his apology for the East Palestine derailment (and by extension, the one in Alabama), Shaw refused in the hearing to commit towards backing a new railway safety bill that both Democrats and Republicans have been pushing for.
This is the third derailment of the company’s trains since last month. When asked about the frequency of the accidents, Connor Spielmaker, a spokesperson for Norfolk Southern, told reporters that Norfolk Southern is looking into what happened and is “figuring out how we can become even safer.”
“Derailments are a very loose term,” he added. “Derailment could mean as little as one wheel off the track. So as far as an increase, decrease, I can’t really get into that.”
But as the Alabama incident demonstrates, derailments have continued to be a pressing concern.
