Norfolk South (New York Stock Exchange:NSC) said on Sunday a train that derailed in Ohio this weekend was not transporting hazardous materials and poses no risk to the public, as local officials quickly erected a shelter-in-place order.
The accident in which 20 cars of a 212-car train derailed near Springfield, Ohio on Saturday follows the February 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern (NSC) train in eastern Palestine, 180 miles to the northeast.
The last accident has renewed bipartisan concerns on rail safety and on the performance of Norfolk Southern (NSC).
“The railroad has a lot of questions to answer and they really haven’t done very well yet,” Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown said on ABC. This week on Sunday.
Ohio Republican Rep. Mike Turner, who represents the area around the latest derailment, called Ohio’s string of derailments, now four in the past five months, “outrageous” and “unacceptable.”
Opposition to the oil and gas pipelines has added stress to the rail system, according to Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of neighboring West Virginia.
Norfolk Southern (NSC) CEO Alan Shaw is scheduled to testify before a Senate committee on Thursday.
Norfolk Southern’s (NSC) biggest problem is falling economic growth, not the East Palestine crisis, writes Leo Nelissen in an analysis recently published in Seeking Alpha.