An overheated bearing on a railcar carrying polypropylene was the likely cause of a
Norfolk Southern Corp.
train derailment earlier this month, federal transportation officials said Thursday, an incident that subsequently created an environmental mess in a small Ohio town that the railroad as well as state and federal officials are still trying to clean up.
Monitoring equipment along the tracks alerted the train crew to the overheated bearing, which was 253 degrees Fahrenheit above ambient temperature, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board. Upon hearing the alarm, a train engineer applied brakes to slow and stop the train, the NTSB said. The crew later observed fire and smoke and alerted authorities.
Two defect detectors, located 30 miles and 20 miles away from the one that sounded the alarm, didn’t record temperatures above Norfolk Southern’s established alarm thresholds.
The train was traveling at 47 miles an hour, less than the maximum authorized speed of 50 mph, the NTSB said. The bearing in question was on the 23rd railcar on the roughly 150-car train. The train was heading eastbound toward Conway, Penn., around 8:54 p.m. when the derailment occurred in East Palestine, a town of about 5,000 people near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.
Thirty-eight railcars derailed and a fire damaged an additional 12 cars, according to the NTSB. Of the railcars that were derailed, 11 were railcars carrying hazardous materials, such as vinyl chloride, a flammable and toxic gas. Three days after the accident the railroad burned vinyl chloride from five tanker cars to prevent a catastrophic explosion.
The NTSB said the findings in its report are subject to change pending additional information gathered. The agency is holding a press conference later Thursday in connection with the release of the four-page report.
A representative for Norfolk Southern said the railroad would issue a statement in conjunction with the NTSB briefing.
The NTSB said further investigation will focus on wheelset and bearing, tank-car design and derailment damage. The agency is also reviewing the accident response that includes the venting and burning of vinyl chloride, rail-car design and maintenance procedures, and Norfolk Southern’s use of wayside detectors and its rail-car inspection practices.
Surveillance video from a local residence showed a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment, the NTSB report added. Wheel bearings can disintegrate upon intense heat.
The two hot-bearing detectors before the one that sounded the alarm recorded temperatures of 38 degrees above the ambient temperature and 103 degrees above ambient temperature, respectively, the NTSB said. Norfolk Southern’s train crews are required to stop and inspect components after a detector provides a reading of 170 degrees above the ambient temperature. Crews also need to stop the train when the detectors detect a difference of at least 115 degrees between bearings on the same axle.
Norfolk Southern Chief Executive
Alan Shaw
has said that Norfolk Southern will pay for environmental remediation and monitoring and will stay to help East Palestine recover and thrive for as long as it takes.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited the clean-up site in East Palestine for the first time Thursday. Officials from Ohio and Pennsylvania as well as federal officials from agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services have been in the town in the days following the derailment.
Updates to follow as news develops
Write to Esther Fung at esther.fung@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
An overheated bearing on a railcar carrying polypropylene was the likely cause of a
Norfolk Southern Corp.
train derailment earlier this month, federal transportation officials said Thursday, an incident that subsequently created an environmental mess in a small Ohio town that the railroad as well as state and federal officials are still trying to clean up.
Monitoring equipment along the tracks alerted the train crew to the overheated bearing, which was 253 degrees Fahrenheit above ambient temperature, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board. Upon hearing the alarm, a train engineer applied brakes to slow and stop the train, the NTSB said. The crew later observed fire and smoke and alerted authorities.
Two defect detectors, located 30 miles and 20 miles away from the one that sounded the alarm, didn’t record temperatures above Norfolk Southern’s established alarm thresholds.
The train was traveling at 47 miles an hour, less than the maximum authorized speed of 50 mph, the NTSB said. The bearing in question was on the 23rd railcar on the roughly 150-car train. The train was heading eastbound toward Conway, Penn., around 8:54 p.m. when the derailment occurred in East Palestine, a town of about 5,000 people near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.
Thirty-eight railcars derailed and a fire damaged an additional 12 cars, according to the NTSB. Of the railcars that were derailed, 11 were railcars carrying hazardous materials, such as vinyl chloride, a flammable and toxic gas. Three days after the accident the railroad burned vinyl chloride from five tanker cars to prevent a catastrophic explosion.
The NTSB said the findings in its report are subject to change pending additional information gathered. The agency is holding a press conference later Thursday in connection with the release of the four-page report.
A representative for Norfolk Southern said the railroad would issue a statement in conjunction with the NTSB briefing.
The NTSB said further investigation will focus on wheelset and bearing, tank-car design and derailment damage. The agency is also reviewing the accident response that includes the venting and burning of vinyl chloride, rail-car design and maintenance procedures, and Norfolk Southern’s use of wayside detectors and its rail-car inspection practices.
Surveillance video from a local residence showed a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment, the NTSB report added. Wheel bearings can disintegrate upon intense heat.
The two hot-bearing detectors before the one that sounded the alarm recorded temperatures of 38 degrees above the ambient temperature and 103 degrees above ambient temperature, respectively, the NTSB said. Norfolk Southern’s train crews are required to stop and inspect components after a detector provides a reading of 170 degrees above the ambient temperature. Crews also need to stop the train when the detectors detect a difference of at least 115 degrees between bearings on the same axle.
Norfolk Southern Chief Executive
Alan Shaw
has said that Norfolk Southern will pay for environmental remediation and monitoring and will stay to help East Palestine recover and thrive for as long as it takes.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited the clean-up site in East Palestine for the first time Thursday. Officials from Ohio and Pennsylvania as well as federal officials from agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services have been in the town in the days following the derailment.
Updates to follow as news develops
Write to Esther Fung at esther.fung@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8