Norfolk Southern freight practice vehicles derail in Pennsylvania

A Norfolk Southern freight train derailed Saturday morning in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, spilling diesel and plastic pellets into the close by river, in response to native authorities.

No accidents have been reported upon a preliminary evaluation of the scene, in response to police and fire rescue departments within the Decrease Saucon Township the place the derailment passed off.

The Saturday incident comes simply over a yr after Norfolk Southern’s trains derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2023, releasing poisonous chemical compounds into the encircling water and air, and setting off a harmful fireplace. Days later, officers mentioned the city had elevated experiences of complications, nausea and different signs from residents.

The Pennsylvania derailment has not triggered the identical contamination up to now, in response to preliminary assessments. Nonetheless, the derailment comes as Norfolk Southern faces a decided activist group, led by Ancora Holdings, which has amassed a $1 billion stake within the firm to oust CEO Alan Shaw.

“There at present aren’t any evacuations or hazardous materials menace to the group,” the Lower Saucon Township Police Department mentioned in a press release at 11 a.m. ET, hours after first responders have been dispatched. “We request that everybody keep out of the world so first responders and Norfolk Southern personnel can proceed to evaluate and work on the scene.”

Emergency responders deployed “containment booms,” limitations used to manage the unfold of oil, within the Lehigh River the place there was a diesel gas spill from one of many practice vehicles, police mentioned. One of many practice vehicles additionally launched a heap of polypropylene plastic pellets.

Norfolk Southern’s crews joined native emergency responders on the scene to evaluate the harm.

“Our crews and contractors will stay on-scene over the approaching days to wash up, and we admire the general public’s persistence whereas they work as rapidly, totally, and as safely as potential,” the corporate mentioned in a press release to CNBC. “We’re all the time working to advance security. We’ll examine this incident to know the way it occurred and stop others prefer it.”

The corporate mentioned it could vacuum out the diesel gas within the river and clear up the plastic pellets. A close-by street can be quickly closed within the meantime.

The Nationwide Transportation Security Board’s preliminary evaluation of Saturday’s derailment discovered that an eastbound Norfolk Southern practice collided with a parked practice on the identical monitor. The ensuing wreckage was then struck by a westbound Norfolk Southern practice.

The NTSB is sending a workforce of “specialists in practice operations, indicators & practice management, mechanical techniques, and human efficiency” to the scene later right this moment.

Saturday’s derailment in Pennsylvania provides to Norfolk Southern’s already full plate. The corporate has been coping with the aftermath of that East Palestine derailment for the previous yr.

The corporate and Shaw’s dealing with of the East Palestine fallout have been one of many issues that Ancora has scrutinized in its proxy supplies. 

“We hope the crew and everybody in Decrease Saucon Township are unhurt by one more derailment of a Norfolk Southern practice,”  Cleveland-based Ancora mentioned in a press release Saturday. It additionally reiterated a requirement for Shaw to step down.

The Environmental Safety Company and White Home officers demanded the corporate facilitate and pay for the cleanup and supply “unequivocal support” for East Palestine.

A yr later, the group remains to be reeling from the Norfolk Southern practice catastrophe, cautious of the longer-term environmental impacts that the contamination might have set off. President Joe Biden visited East Palestine in February to precise help for the group and urge stronger railway security regulation.

— CNBC’s Rohan Goswami contributed to this report.