Railroaded Smoke Has Cleared (for now)
East Palestine served as a wake-up call for the entire industry. The Ohio disaster has cast a lingering shadow of doubt and suspicion over railroads.
Railroads still play a significant role in freight shipping despite the route decline. They carried 750 billion ton-miles by 1975 to an all-time high of 1.7 trillion ton-miles in 2018. This increase, despite fewer tracks, is possible due to innovations. That includes heavier and longer trains, labor reduction, energy efficiencies, and technologies. These items are not without controversial issues related to safety.
Frederick R. Smith
Despite the ongoing narrative, positive freight railroad safety statistics abound. More than 99.9% of hazardous materials shipments arrive without incident. Accidents are way down from the highs of the 1970s. Abandonment of many miles of track notwithstanding, traffic levels have increased. Accident data normalized against traffic levels also show a favorable trend. Meanwhile, there is the haunting image of a massive column of black smoke billowing from East Palestine, Ohio. It remains etched in people’s minds.
The toxic cloud resulting from the Norfolk Southern (NS) derailment on February 3, 2023, disrupted the lives of 4,700 individuals. The epicenter includes the people from East Palestine who suffered. The incident also instilled a sense of unease nationwide among communities near railway tracks. They pondered the possibility of a similar catastrophe in their neighborhoods. Furthermore, the intense media scrutiny over a cluster of derailments after the East Palestine wreck created terrible optics. The perception: no railroad can keep trains on the track.
The track structure had no bearing on the East Palestine derailment. Regardless, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) got flooded with track safety complaints. Town leaders and people living near railroads demanded the FRA “ensure” their safety. It is proper to investigate legitimate concerns. But, when many people “jump on the bandwagon,” the FRA must divert its scarce resources to investigate these complaints. FRA inspectors are like auditors and observe a small segment of railroad activity.1 Shifting resources in a reactionary fashion can hurt safety. Even the FRA got on board that wagon by announcing a “focused inspection” of tracks.
Congress usually acts on recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Based on NTSB and FRA data analysis, Congress can invoke proactive measures to enhance railroad safety. Washington is now rushing to enact more stringent railroad safety regulations.
Historically, high-profile railroad disasters have led to the introduction of new safety rules. Like some of the others in the past, East Palestine ignited a flurry of proposed regulations that have no direct correlation to the core element of the incident. The NTSB’s preliminary report attributed the derailment to a wheel bearing failure. It exonerated the train crew from any wrongdoing. There was no evidence of track issues, and the wheel-bearing detectors along the route were functioning as intended.2 The Rail Safety Act, introduced in the Senate, seeks to:
Expands handling rules for trains transporting hazardous materials
Mandate railroads provide first responders with increased funding and real-time data on hazardous material shipments
Regulate wayside defect detectors for the first time
These proposed measures are logical. Some will argue installing wheel bearing sensors on freight cars would be more effective. Yet, the bill is also a compilation of additional provisions:
Establishes minimum inspection times for freight cars
Imposes restrictions on train length and weight
Increases fines for safety rule violations by railroads
Mandates a minimum crew size of two individuals
Prohibits blocked highway-rail grade crossings
Regardless of one’s opinion on the merits of these proposals, they do not address the core issue. The missed target: addressing wheel-bearing failures. Curiously these proposals and legacy media are silent about Electronic Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) train brakes. Perhaps some sense of practical reality has settled in concerning ECP brakes.
The Rail Safety Act enjoys bipartisan support and is gaining momentum. Railroads are naive if they get surprised by the lack of support they receive in Washington. In 2017, railroads initiated a wave of significant layoffs. That occurred during the implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR).
Adopting the PSR cost-cutting operating model led to criticism. The issues ranged from service issues to multi-billion-dollar share buyback programs. Based on these issues, East Palestine fits into two narratives:
Politicians perceive railroads as modern-day monopolistic entities that resist safety regulations. Railroads reinforced this view by advocating removing conductors from the locomotive cab. The model was for freight train conductors to follow trains in vehicles on the highways. Luckily, that proposal has sputtered.
East Palestine is a “told you so” moment for rail labor. Union leaders have long cautioned that railroads no longer take safety seriously and that job cuts would lead to disasters. East Palestine could begin a trend, although safety statistics have improved since 2017. Nevertheless, regulators and lawmakers should value the valuable insights that rail labor can provide. Labor leaders should avoid overplaying their hands by blaming everything under the sun on PSR.
NS CEO Alan Shaw has become the target of lawmakers’ rightful anger. NS has faced severe criticism due to the derailment, and its initial response was inadequate. NS has yet to receive recognition for Shaw’s updated commitment to rectifying the situation in East Palestine. NS has also implemented system-wide safety measures since the incident without credit.
Despite not being obligatory, politicians seem to disregard the significant private investments. While not a regulatory requirement (yet?), railroads invested in wayside defect detector networks. They also implemented advanced track and train inspection technology. Additionally, they (and the railroad bean counters) must recognize that railroads gain profits by minimizing derailments.
The use of technology can be a good thing. However, rail labor unions are rightfully concerned about over-reliance on technology. It is a legitimate beef when a human-trained eye and intuition get canceled. Will railroads relocate the human resources lost to inspection technology to maintain the right-of-way, signals, and rolling stock? Furthermore, is combining trains into seemingly endless monsters to eliminate train crews safer than traditional length operations? Even non-railroaders know the answer to that question.
Yet, railroads must strive for improvement. Last year, the train accident rates at NS and Union Pacific were high. Approximately four times higher than those of the industry’s big operation leader in terms of safety, the Canadian Pacific. There is no reason why this disparity cannot get addressed and narrowed.
A towering cloud of smoke loomed over East Palestine, Ohio, following the derailment of an NS train on February 3, 2023. This incident has sparked discussions and debates surrounding rail safety. East Palestine served as a wake-up call for the entire industry. It cast a lingering shadow of doubt and suspicion over railroads. The smoke has cleared, but railroad managers and investors must consider the wrong side of the bottom line. The slogan should be “Beyond the Bottom Line.”
Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) never fully implemented the tenets of PSR and is among the best of the bunch of big railroads. With cautious optimism in mind, and thanks to BNSF, there are signs railroad CEOs are finally starting to realize the adverse effects of PSR.
Stay tuned!📕
Few understand that railroads must inspect and maintain their right-of-way and rolling stock as required under FRA regulations. Thus, FRA inspectors perform spot inspections to audit railroads’ compliance with safety regulations.
Issues with the temperature thresholds of the NS detectors are under scrutiny.
New report warns of toxic ‘bomb train’ risk
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4435442-report-warns-toxic-bomb-train-risk/
John Oliver’s backward solutions for freight rail fail the American people
https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/economy-budget/4367617-john-olivers-backward-solutions-for-freight-rail-fail-the-american-people/