Lawyers want East Palestine residents to wait for details of $600 million derailment settlement
The lawyers who negotiated a $600 million settlement with Norfolk Southern over that railroad's disastrous 2023 derailment in eastern Ohio want residents to talk with them before deciding the historic deal isn't enough.
AP Exclusive: EPA didn't declare a public health emergency after fiery Ohio derailment
Officials say the aftermath of last yearโs fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio doesnโt qualify as a public health emergency because widespread health problems and ongoing chemical exposures havenโt been documented.
Latest freight railroad layoffs and Wall Street pressure renew concerns about safety and service
The latest rail layoffs this week, combined with an investment fund's ongoing campaign for control of Norfolk Southern, are renewing concerns among unions and regulators about all the cuts hurting safety and service.
Railroads say they're making safety changes to reduce derailments after fiery Ohio crash
The major freight railroads all promised safety improvements after the fiery derailment in eastern Ohio a year ago, but they have yet to make meaningful safety improvements and reform efforts have stalled in Congress.
A year on, a small Ohio town is recovering from a fiery train derailment but health fears persist
Daily life largely returned to normal for the nearly 5,000 residents of East Palestine, Ohio, months after a Norfolk Southern train derailed and spilled a cocktail of hazardous chemicals that caught fire a year ago.
Norfolk Southern investing in more automated inspection systems on its railroad to improve safety
Norfolk Southern has installed the first of what will be more than a dozen of a new generation of automated inspection portals on its tracks in Ohio โ not far from where one of its trains derailed in February and spilled hazardous chemicals that caught fire.
Biden says Norfolk Southern must be held accountable for Ohio derailment but won't declare disaster
President Joe Biden ordered federal agencies to continue holding Norfolk Southern accountable for its February derailment in eastern Ohio and appoint a FEMA official to oversee East Palestine's recovery, but he stopped short of declaring a disaster.
Norfolk Southern CEO promises to keep improving safety on the railroad based on consultant's report
Norfolk Southern's CEO pledged to continue working to improve safety after the consultant the railroad hired after the fiery Ohio derailment in February recommended making sure that safety is truly a priority at all levels and continuing many of the efforts it has already begun.
EPA weighs formal review of vinyl chloride, the toxic chemical that burned in Ohio train derailment
The Biden administration says it could soon launch a formal evaluation of risks posed by vinyl chloride, the cancer-causing chemical that burned in a towering plume of toxic smoke following the fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Norfolk Southern says cost of fiery Ohio derailment doubles to $803 million as cleanup continues
The costs associated with Norfolk Southern's fiery February derailment in Ohio have more than doubled to $803 million as the railroad works to clean up the mess and moves forward with all the related lawsuits.
Safety concerns dominate Norfolk Southern railroad CEO's job since Ohio derailment
Norfolk Southernโs CEO has spoken often of safety and better service since he took the job over a year ago, but itโs safety that has dominated discussions after one of his trains derailed and caught fire in February in Ohio.
Response to fiery Ohio derailment frustrated by poor communication and incomplete information
Officials say firefighters who responded to Februaryโs fiery train derailment in Ohio struggled to immediately identify the hazardous chemicals the train was hauling due to poor communication from the railroad.
Union Pacific 2nd railroad to drop push for one-person crews
Union Pacific has become the second major freight railroad in the past week to back away from the industry's longstanding push to cut train crews down to one person as lawmakers and regulators increasingly focus on rail safety following last month's fiery derailment in Ohio.
Ohio senators introduce rail safety bill after fiery crash
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has proposed legislation that would make railroads, like the one involved in last monthโs fiery crash and toxic chemical release in Ohio, subject to a series of new federal safety regulations and financial consequences.
Railroads urged to examine track detectors after Ohio crash
Federal regulators are urging freight railroads to reexamine the way they use and maintain the detectors along the tracks that are supposed to spot overheating bearings in the wake of the fiery Ohio derailment and several other recent crashes where faulty bearings are suspected to be the cause.
Buttigieg urges safety changes after fiery Ohio derailment
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wants the nationโs freight railroads to immediately act to improve safety while regulators try to strengthen safety rules in the wake of a fiery derailment in Ohio that forced evacuations when toxic chemicals were released and burned.
Southside company using artificial intelligence to make railways safer
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sent a letter Sunday to the CEO of Norfolk Southern, warning that the freight rail company must โdemonstrate unequivocal support for the peopleโ of East Palestine, Ohio, and surrounding areas after a fiery train derailment led to the release of chemicals and residents expressing concerns about their health.
US economy grew 3.2% in Q3, an upgrade from earlier estimate
Shrugging off rampant inflation and rising interest rates, the U.S. economy grew at an unexpectedly strong 3.2% annual pace from July through September, the government reported Thursday in a healthy upgrade from its earlier estimate of third-quarter growth.
Northbound Edgewood reopens at train track overpass after crane fire
A day after a crane caught fire and sent flames shooting 40 feet high, possibly damaging the New Kings Road overpass on Edgewood Avenue, News4JAX learned northbound lanes of Edgewood had reopened, while southbound lanes will remain closed until officials can inspect the overpass.
Man hit, killed by train in Northwest Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ A man died after he was struck by a train on Wednesday in Northwest Jacksonville, according to the Jacksonville Sheriffโs Office. Police said the man, who was described as being in his 60s, was trying to crawl under the train, which was stopped, with his bicycle when the train started to move. โI think itโs a shame that itโs came to this after all these complaints.โAdAccording to News4Jax records, there have been two incidents involving trains and two deaths this year. Last year, there were six incidents involving trains and three deaths. There were seven incidents involving trains and five deaths in 2019 and 11 incidents and five deaths in 2018.
Judge says railroad talks should be included in lawsuits
FILE- In this July 31, 2018, file photo a Union Pacific train travels through Union, Neb. โ A federal judge has ruled that the details of conversations between the nation's four largest railroads should be included in lawsuits challenging billions of dollars of charges the railroads imposed in the past. The lawsuits say the railroads conspired to boost prices starting in 2003 by imposing coordinated fuel surcharges and pocketing billions of dollars in profits. In the lawsuits, the railroads have argued that their fuel surcharges were legal and were simply designed to recover the skyrocketing cost of fuel at the time. Union Pacific, which is based in Omaha, Nebraska, plans to continue โvigorously defending itself against the allegations in these lawsuits,โ spokeswoman Elizabeth Graham said.
CSX plans to buy regional railroad in northeastern U.S.
โ CSX is acquiring a regional railroad in New England to bolster its network in the northeastern United States, but a rival railroad says the deal could hurt competition. If regulators approve the deal, CSX would also acquire Pan Am's partial ownership of a 600-mile joint venture with Norfolk Southern railroad called Pan Am Southern. Earlier this month, Norfolk Southern raised concerns about this deal with the Surface Transportation Board because it said allowing CSX to buy Pan Am could undermine competition between CSX and Norfolk Southern in the eastern United States. CSX already operates more than 21,000 miles (34,000 kilometers) of track in 23 Eastern states and two Canadian provinces. Norfolk Southernโs network of 19,500 miles of track covers much of the same territory as CSX in 22 Eastern states.