Norfolk Southern estimates that Ohio derailment cost $387M
Norfolk Southern said it expects February's fiery Ohio derailment to cost it $387 million, but that total will likely increase over time and that doesn't reflect how much the railroad's insurance companies will eventually cover
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Norfolk Southern expects February's fiery Ohio derailment to cost it $387 million, but that total will likely increase over time and that doesn't reflect how much the railroad's insurance companies will eventually cover.
The railroad provided a detailed estimate of the cost of Feb. 3 derailment outside East Palestine, Ohio, Wednesday when it released its first-quarter earnings report. That derailment, combined with others since then, sparked a nationwide focus on railroad safety and prompted regulators and members of Congress to propose reforms like capping the length of freight trains and setting standards for the trackside detectors railroads use to spot equipment problems.
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw has said during testimony in Congress that he'll support some of the proposals like enhanced standards for tank cars, but he thinks the data doesn't support some of the other ideas like requiring railroads to maintain two-person crews. Shaw reiterated his often-stated promise Wednesday to “do whatever it takes to make it right for East Palestine and the surrounding areas.”
The $387 million estimate includes the $30.9 million to helping residents and the community around East Palestine recover from the derailment and spent millions more on the cleanup at the site where it has dug up and removed nearly 39,000 tons of contaminated soil and trucked away another 14.8 million gallons of tainted water. But many people who live near where the train derailed remain worried about possible long term health impacts and they aren't sure how to move forward even though officials say that repeated testing hasn't shown harmful levels of chemicals in the air or drinking water.
