Norfolk Southern will assess use of hot box detectors

Norfolk Southern has developed a safety plan the railroad says addresses the preliminary findings of the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the Feb. 3 derailment of an NS train near East Palestine, Ohio.

NTSB investigators are looking at the role that overheated bearings might have played in the train derailment.

“Reading the NTSB report makes it clear that meaningful safety improvements require a comprehensive industry effort that brings together railcar and tank car manufacturers, railcar owners and lessors, and the railroad companies,” NS President and CEO Alan Shaw said in a Monday news release. “We are eager to help drive that effort and we are not waiting to take action.”

NS’ announcement of its new plan doesn’t mention that another NS train derailed in Ohio this weekend, according to news reports. There were no hazardous materials involved in the derailment, NS said in a Monday service update. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are looking into the derailment.

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, the Class I railroads reported 911 train derailments occurring on their networks in 2022, compared with a 10-year industry average of 944 train derailments. The data includes derailments on the mainline and at rail yards.

Norfolk Southern’s plan has six points aimed at addressing wayside detectors, including hot bearing detectors or hot box detectors, and NS’ safety culture. Wayside detectors are installed at various points along a train track and can detect potential defects as a train moves past the detector.

The six initiatives, which NS (NYSE: NSC) says it will deploy immediately:

Examine NS’ hot bearing detector through measures such as reevaluating the distance between each detector on NS’ network, which averages 13.9 miles on the core network, particularly in areas where there might be changes in terrain or operating conditions. Approximately 200 hot box detectors could be added to the network, with the first installed on the western approach to East Palestine, NS said.
Work with manufacturers to accelerate the testing and deployment of the next generation of hot box detectors, which can scan a greater cross-section of a railcar’s bearings and wheels. These detectors are called “multi-scan” detectors and can potentially catch overheated bearings more effectively.
Potentially work with the broader rail industry to comprehensively review standards and practices for hot box detectors, including reevaluating the temperature thresholds that would trigger an alarm and working with peers to analyze data and search for patterns that could provide potential warnings sooner, as well as working with other railroads to review best practices for responses to high-temperature alarms.
Accelerate the deployment of acoustic bearing detectors, which analyze the acoustic signature of vibration inside the axle and can identify potential problems that a visual inspection could not, NS said. Thirteen new detectors will be deployed on NS’ network, in addition to the five already installed, along high-traffic routes.
Accelerate the installation of a next-generation train inspection technology that NS is currently developing with the Georgia Tech Research Institute. NS says the program “uses machine vision and algorithms powered by artificial intelligence to identify defects and needed repairs much more effectively than traditional human inspection. Ultra-high-resolution cameras stationed in strategic locations around its network will give Norfolk Southern a 360-degree health check on railcars, improving its ability to detect, diagnose, and repair defects before they become issues.” NS will deploy the technology on its Premier Corridor, which runs between the Midwest and Northeast and includes the line that runs through East Palestine.
Join the Federal Railroad Administration’s program enabling workers to leave anonymous tips over workplace concerns. The program complements one already running at NS.

PHMSA issues safety advisory telling railroads to evaluate their emergency response plans

NS’ plan follows an unrelated announcement on Friday from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) calling on the railroads to evaluate their emergency response plans in light of the Feb. 3 train derailment.

The safety advisory, issued Friday and signed by William S. Schoonover, PHMSA’s associate administrator, calls for the railroads to ensure that their hazardous materials emergency response plans are up to date and are accessible via the AskRail system, which PHMSA says allows local responders to determine real-time train consist information and begin response actions without having to locate the train crew and obtain a paper train consist. This information is crucial to understanding hazards present in a derailment and other incidents involving a train transporting hazmat, and so the railroads should ensure that they have granted access about information on rights-of-way to the program, PHMSA said.

The safety advisory also informs the railroads of grant funding that could potentially bolster the development of their emergency response plans, and it encourages the railroads to identify further opportunities for emergency response-related training. PHMSA also urged the railroads to determine whether it would be appropriate to expand the plans to cover additional hazmat.

The railroads have a responsibility to develop emergency response plans per federal code, PHMSA said.

Friday’s safety advisory follows others from federal agencies on tank car covers and hot box detectors.

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