Norfolk Southern train derails in Alabama

March 9, 2023

A Norfolk Southern train derailed in Alabama early Thursday, just hours before the embattled railway’s CEO appeared before Congress to apologize for last month’s derailment in Ohio that released gallons of toxic chemicals into the air.

The latest incident took place around 6:45 a.m. in the White Plains area, Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency said on Facebook.

According to preliminary reports, about 30 train cars derailed.

Officials said there were no injuries and “no reports of leaks” of hazardous materials.

Representatives of Norfolk Southern have responded to the scene in Alabama.

“There is NO danger to the public,” the agency’s statement stressed.

Norfolk Southern said the train originated in Atlanta, Georgia, and was traveling westbound to Meridian, Mississippi.

Around 30 empty train cars came off the tracks Thursday when a train derailed in Calhoun County, Alabama. — A 30-car Norfolk Southern train traveling from Georgia to Mississippi went off the tracks in rural Alabama Thursday morning.

Emergency management officials said there were no injuries and no reports of toxic leaks in the wake of the crash. — Emergency management officials said there were no injuries or reports of toxic leaks after the crash.

The derailment in Alabama was Norfolk Southern's fourth in just over a month. — The derailment in Alabama was Norfolk Southern’s fourth in just over a month.

Thursday’s derailment in Alabama — Norfolk Southern’s fourth in just over a month — came just hours before CEO Alan Shaw was raked over the coals by Ohio’s Democratic and Republican senators over his company’s response to the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine.

The crash sparked mass evacuations and contaminated 1.1 million gallons of water and 15,000 pounds of soil in the small community.

In his testimony on Capitol Hill, Shaw pledged millions of dollars to help the town — but stopped short of backing a Senate bill that would toughen industry-wide safety regulations.

This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. — On Feb. 3, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous vinyl chloride derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, contaminating water and soil.

“I’m terribly sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the folks of that community,” Shaw said. “We’re going to be there for as long as it takes to help East Palestine thrive and recover.”

No one was injured as a result of last month’s derailment, but state and local officials decided to release and burn toxic vinyl chloride, sending clouds of acrid black smoke billowing into the sky.

During Thursday’s hearing, Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, blasted the railroad for prioritizing profits over people’s safety “by cutting cost at all costs.”

Norfolk Southern Corporation President and CEO, Alan Shaw, testifies before a US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing on the environmental and public health threats from the Norfolk Southern February 3 train derailment, on March 9, 2023, in Washington, DC. — Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw apologized for the Ohio train derailment during a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill.

His GOP colleague, Sen. JD Vance, also lashed out at the beleaguered CEO, accusing Norfolk Southern of resisting increased safety measures after enjoying decades of “special government privileges.”

Just days after the disaster in East Palestine, another Norfolk Southern train hauling hazardous materials crashed near Detroit.

Last week, a 212-car Norfolk Southern train went off the tracks in Springfield, Ohio, triggering a shelter-in-place order.

With Post wires