Norfolk Southern’s CEO issued a sincere apology before Congress on Thursday for the derailment of the fiery hazardous materials train on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border last month and pledged millions of dollars to help the local city recover. But he stopped short of fully approving stricter safety regulations or specific commitments to pay for long-term health and economic damage.

In a packed Senate hearing, Alan Shaw said his railroad company strongly supports the goal of improving railroad safety, but he also defended his company’s record.

He was closely questioned by both Democrats and Republicans about specific commitments to pay for long-term health problems and economic damages; the decision making that led to the release and incineration of toxic vinyl chloride from five tank trucks; and the company’s commitment to safety and helping the people of East Palestine, Ohio.

I am terribly sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the people of that community, Shaw told the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee. We will be there for as long as it takes to help Eastern Palestine thrive and recover.

But the condolences and pledge of $20 million in aid so far have hardly satisfied lawmakers or several residents of eastern Palestine who traveled to Washington for the hearing.

How do we trust that man with our health and the health of our children when he doesn’t even answer the questions we need, Jami Cozza said, adding that her family is still sick more than a month after the derailment.

The train’s crew was warned of an overheated axle just before the Ohio derailment, the report said

The company has announced several voluntary security upgrades. However, senators are seeking to take action themselves as they investigate the derailment, the Biden administration’s response and the company’s safety practices after topping 38 train cars, including 11 carrying hazardous materials.

Norfolk Southern is also under pressure from federal regulators. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Railroad Administration this week announced investigations into the derailment in eastern Palestine and other accidents, including the death of a train conductor Tuesday.

A Norfolk Southern train derailed in Alabama on Thursday. The company and local officials said there was no threat to the public.

No one was injured in the crash in eastern Palestine, but aid from the approximately 5,000 local residents was evacuated. Scenes of smoke rising over the city, alongside complaints from residents that they continue to suffer from illnesses, have drawn national attention to rail safety and the ways in which hazardous materials are transported.

It has all led to a show of bipartisanship in the Senate. The committee also heard on Thursday from Senators JD Vance (R-Ohio), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) of Ohio and Pennsylvania who are proposing new safety regulations under a 2023 railroad safety bill.

Fiery derailment in Ohio raises questions about railroad safety

Train derailments are becoming less common, but last year there were still more than 1,000, according to data from the Federal Railroad Administration. And as Eastern Palestine shows, even a single derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials can be disastrous.

Hazardous material shipments account for 7% to 8% of the approximately 30 million shipments that railroads deliver each year in the US. But railroads often combine shipments and can have one or two cars of hazardous materials on almost every train. The Assn. of American Railroads says that 99.9% of its hazardous material shipments reach their destination safely.

The Senate Commerce Committee will also hear from Norfolk Southern’s Shaw, as well as NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy, at a hearing this month. That committee is also expected to consider the proposed safety regulations.

Shaw supports proposals to tighten standards for non-railway tank cars, expand training for hazardous materials first responders, and establish standards for the track detectors that railroads use to detect problems. The company has also said it is adding about 200 hot bearing detectors to its network. The NTSB has said a detector alerted the crew operating the train that derailed outside eastern Palestine on Feb. 3, but that workers were unable to stop the train before more than three dozen cars came off the tracks and caught fire.

Some lawmakers want to go beyond voluntary safety upgrades. The Railroad Safety Act of 2023, which has received the backing of Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.), would require more hot bearing detectors to be installed, set limits on train length, and require railroads to inform states of the hazardous materials they use. transport.

Some Republicans were hesitant to support the proposal and opposed efforts to impose new rules.

Angry Ohio residents confront the railroad over health fears

Vance, who was elected in November, denounced those in his party who rejected his bill, saying they are ignoring a shift in the GOP to appeal to working-class voters.

We have a choice: are we for big companies and big governments, or are we for the people of eastern Palestine? he said.

At the same time, Republicans are more willing to delve into emergency aid after the derailment in eastern Palestine.

Thursday’s hearing also included environmental protection officials from the federal, state and local levels. They acknowledged communication problems in the days immediately after the derailment, including around the decision to release and burn vinyl chloride.

Republicans have criticized President Biden for not visiting the community in the wake of the derailment. The Democratic president has said he will visit at some point, and the White House notes that Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has gone to eastern Palestine and pushed for stricter train safety protocols.

The Senate bill also touches on a disagreement between unions of railroad workers and operators by requiring train crews to remain two-person. Unions claim that railways are riskier because of the industry’s job losses over the past six years. Nearly a third of all railway tracks have been cut and train crews, they say, are fatigued from being available day and night.

Shaw said Norfolk Southern has been hiring massively over the past year, but has failed to meet the requirement to maintain two-man crews on freight railroads.

He pointed to more than $1 billion the company spent on security last year, but he acknowledged that Norfolk Southern also spent more than $3 billion buying back its shares and posted a $3.3 billion profit in 2022 .

“I am committed to making Norfolk Southern’s safety culture the best in the industry,” he told the Senate panel.

Democratic Sen. Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts dismissed Shaw’s safety talk after a recent string of incidents, including a derailment on Saturday near Springfield, Ohio, and the death of a conductor this week at a Cleveland steel mill.

“It seems like every week there’s a different accident that Norfolk Southern is a part of in our country. So you might think you’ve bet enough, but the facts say the exact opposite,” Markey said.

The senator also urged Shaw to make specific commitments, including paying for the loss of home values ​​in eastern Palestine. Shaw repeated this refrain: I am determined to do what is right.

Markey replied: What’s good for the community will then be balanced, what we can see in the share buybacks, with what’s good for Norfolk Southern, and that will be to sue, to fight, to get full compensation for these communities to resist.

Misti Allison, a resident of eastern Palestine, said she was also frustrated by Shaw’s lack of details. she

willing to fly back to her home where

said a chemical smell still lingers in her home as authorities clear contaminated soil.

It’s heartbreaking because people have really valid concerns right now. People are sick,” Allison said. “That contaminated soil they talked about is still there. They drive it on our roads.