Hours After CEO Apologizes for East Palestine Derailment, Another Norfolk Southern Train Derails in Alabama

A few hours before the CEO at Norfolk Southern testified this week to Congress about the railway’s apparent difficulty keeping trains on railroad tracks, another one of its trains derailed in Alabama.

According to Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency (CEMA), more than 30 cars heading west from Atlanta were stranded at 6:45 AM on March 9, in Iron City, near the White Plains.

Myles Chamblee, Calhoun County EMA Director, stated that there were no injuries, fires, or roadblocks.

Chamblee stated, “Thankfully, there weren’t any hazardous materials on that train, so we were able to work with Norfolk Southern and the county sheriff’s office, the Quad Cites firefighters department, and the Oxford fire departments, thankfully were able a respond effectively.”

At 2:30 p.m. fire departments were gone, leaving Norfolk Southern personnel to continue cleanup efforts.

Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Falon Hurst stated that railroad traffic would be affected for some time. Anniston Star

“It’s torn the tracks all up,” said Hurst.

White Plains is not experiencing a major disruption in rail traffic. This is contrary to East Palestine, Ohio where a Norfolk Southern train carrying 141 loaded cars was derailed and released toxic chemicals into the air.

Norfolk Southern spokesman Connor Spielmaker told reporters that none of the 37 cars allegedly contained hazardous materials; however, two are designated “residue hazardous material cars” because they recently carried hazardous materials.

Spielmaker stated, “They didn’t breach.” “There was no hazardous material leak.” “The public is not at risk.”

Following the latest derailment in Norfolk Southern, CEO Alan Shaw presented evidence to Congress about where his railroad has spent large sums of money in recent times.

We reported previously that Norfolk Southern has paid politicians nearly $100 million in bribes since 1990.

Open Secrets reports that Norfolk Southern spent $ 1.8 million lobbying last year, compared to $1.6 million in the previous year. It has spent more than $79 million in lobbying efforts since 1998 and $16,948,996 to make political contributions.

This money is now on both sides of the aisle.

Although the company favors Democratic congressional candidates at 55.27% to 44.72% it gave hundreds of thousands of dollars out to all political parties, who could one day be held responsible.

Shaw was not compensated for its investment.

Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), stated that the company used the Wall Street model to increase profits and cut costs wherever possible. It will have devastating consequences for East Palestine.

Brown noted that the railway had reduced its workforce by 38% in the last 10 years while spending $3.4 Billion on stock buybacks. This was according to the New York Post.

Brown said, “That’s money which could have gone towards hiring inspectors, to putting hotbox detectors along its railway lines, or to having more workers to repair cars and track,”

J.D., Republican Senator Republican Senator J.D. This industry is entitled to special legal protections that virtually no other industry has.

“Now they claim before the Senate, the House that our reasonable regulation violates the free market. This doesn’t make any sense. Vance added that you can’t claim any special privileges from the government, and you cannot ask for government bailouts.

Shaw stated that he was deeply sorry for the “derailment” that had occurred to the residents of East Palestine and surrounding communities.

“I will make it right. Norfolk Southern will ensure that the site is cleaned up quickly, safely, and thoroughly. My personal commitment is yours. Shaw said that Norfolk Southern will do the right thing and help East Palestine prosper.”

Shaw pointed out that Norfolk Southern had pledged $21,000,000 in aid to East Palestine. In East Palestine, 1.1 million gallons and 15,000 lbs of soil were contaminated. A trench warfare gas which was once used for mass slaughter was also released overhead.

We reported previously that Norfolk Southern Railroad had just experienced a “double-digit percentage increase in revenue and… record revenue, operating income,” and that its end-of-2018 financial report showed that it had earned $12.7 billion in 2022. This is an increase of 14% from the previous year. This was despite the fact that the railway was responsible for more than half of the hazmat losses involving railroad transportation in the U.S.

According to The New York Times, the number of railway accidents has increased over the past four years.

Norfolk Southern recently saw major derailments on March 4 in Springfield, Ohio, and Feb. 16 in Van Buren Township outside Detroit, Michigan.

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