Last weekend, a cargo train carrying toxic chemicals derailed and caught fire in Ohio. Earlier this week, those chemicals reached a critical point, and authorities released them into the atmosphere to prevent them from building up explosive pressure in the train cars themselves. But since the earliest hours of the crash, people have wondered: How did this happen?
Now, it seems we’re getting answers. Early reports cited a mechanical failure with one of the train’s axles that led the crew to pull the emergency brake. But that brake didn’t stop the train — it still crashed, leading to the evacuations we’ve seen over the past few days. But a new report suggests why those brakes allowed the train to run away: Lobbying from the railway company, Norfolk Southern.
A report from The Lever traced the financials of Norfolk Southern before the Ohio derailment, and discovered an interesting pattern: No matter how much the company bragged about its modern, electronic braking systems and their improvements over older pneumatic setups, Norfolk Southern resisted braking regulations at every turn. The company lobbied for lighter regulations on train safety, and specifically pushed for a narrow definition of “high-hazard” trains — a definition the Ohio cars, full of hazardous chemicals, didn’t meet.
The Lever’s full report paints a damning picture, in which Norfolk Southern was fully aware how ineffective its trains’ old, air-powered brakes truly were when compared to their electronic competitors. Still, the company resisted any push to actually use those electronic brakes on high-risk trains — and spent millions on that resistance. Check out the full article and see if it doesn’t sour you on the state of American railways — and the companies that run them.