ATLANTA — On Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary report on the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine.
The report stated that Norfolk Southern crew members had no indication the train was in trouble until an alarm sounded just before it went off the tracks.
An engineer slowed and stopped the train after getting a “critical audible alarm message" that signaled an overheated axle, according to the report. The three-person crew then saw fire and smoke and alerted dispatch, the report said.
After the NTSB released its preliminary report, Norfolk Southern issued a statement.
"Norfolk Southern will continue to support the NTSB's investigation," the statement indicated. "Their preliminary report indicates:
- The rail crew operated the train within the company’s rules.
- The rail crew operated the train below the track speed limit.
- The wayside heat detectors were operating as designed.
- Once the rail crew was alerted by the wayside detector, they immediately began to stop the train."
Investigators said the temperature of the failed wheel bearing increased by 215 degrees in a span of 30 miles, but did not reach the temperature threshold that Norfolk Southern had set for an alarm to go off until just before the wreck.
Norfolk Southern says its wayside detectors on its network trigger an alarm "at a temperatures threshold that is among the lowest in the rail industry."
“We have no evidence that the crew did anything wrong,” said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy, who announced a rare investigatory field hearing to be conducted in East Palestine this spring as officials seek to get to the bottom of the derailment's cause and build consensus on how to prevent similar wrecks.
The train was going about 47 miles per hour, under the speed limit of 50 mph, according to investigators.
Under the supervision of the Federal Railroad Administration, Norfolk Southern says it has inspected all wayside detectors in the area of the incident and found they were "operating as designed." The company says out of an abundance of caution, it plans to inspect all of the nearly 1,000 wayside heat detectors on its system - on top of the regular inspection of the detectors every 30 days.
"We and the rail industry need to learn as much as we can from this event. Norfolk Southern will develop practices and invest in technologies that could help prevent an incident like this in the future. We will also work with the owners of the rail cars on the integrity and safety of the equipment we use," the company added in its statement.
The response to the East Palestine wreck has become a hot-button political issue, prompting a rebuke by Homendy during the NTSB's briefing on Thursday.
“Enough with the politics. I don’t understand why this has gotten so political,” Homendy, clearly exasperated, said at a briefing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. “This is a community that is suffering. This is not about politics. This is about addressing their needs, their concerns.”
Last week, Homendy took to Twitter to issue a plea for people to stop spreading misinformation regarding the train derailment.
"We share the NTSB Chair’s frustration about the significant misinformation about the incident," Norfolk Southern added in its statement. "The speculation and misinformation about this incident have been extremely upsetting to the citizens of East Palestine. Norfolk Southern remains committed to the people of the community and will continue its work to help them thrive. Already, we have made significant progress in cleaning the site, engaging the community, and providing financial support for families and small businesses, all to help East Palestine."
You can read Norfolk Southern's entire statement below: