EAST PALESTINE — Norfolk Southern (NFS) marked the three-month anniversary of the East Palestine train derailment on Wednesday by promising a commitment to improving railway safety.

“A safer railroad is a better railroad. The events of the last few months have strengthened our commitment to leading the industry in rail safety,” CEO Alan Shaw said in an open letter to media outlets. “That leadership starts at home. We are a safe railroad but we can do better. We have already taken actions to further enhance safety, and we are advocates in Washington for federal legislative provisions that have the potential to enhance freight rail safety.”

The derailment sparked the federal Railway Safety Act of 2023, requiring advanced notifications to local and state emergency responders as to the exact cargo of the trains that travel the railways, as well as a mandate for two-person crews, fewer distance between wayside hotbox detectors and other “common sense” safety regulations. To date, the bill, which was introduced on March 1 by Ohio Senators J.D. Vance and Sherrod Brown, has not moved forward in the Senate.

Shaw remains adamant that true safety improvements will only be achieved if the railroad industry collectively supports news safety standards. The likely cause of the derailment was the overheating of a wheel bearing on by a car owned by GATX Corporation. Railcar owners need to be part of safety conversations, Shaw insisted.

“It will take the entire industry, including railcar owners, leasing companies, equipment manufacturers, and the railroad companies to make meaningful safety enhancements,” Shaw said. “We embrace our role.”

Shaw said NFS is also focused on advancing employee training and the creation of safety-driven jobs.

“We’re also investing in training, creating career opportunities for the front-line employees who are the heart and soul of Norfolk Southern,” he said. “I enjoy the time I spend in crew rooms listening to my craft colleagues about what they need. I won’t stop working until our service and safety culture is the acknowledged model for the industry.”

The railroad also announced the implementation of a six-point plan “to immediately enhance the safety of its operations” on March 6. NFS pledged to enhance the hot bearing detector network, pilot next-generation hot bearing detectors, work with industry on practices for hot bearing detectors, deploy more acoustic bearing detectors, accelerate the company’s digital train inspection program and support a strong safety culture.

While creating a stronger safety culture and preventing another rail disaster is paramount, the damage in East Palestine has already been done. NFS has invested nearly $32 million dollars back into the village and surrounding communities in an effort “to make it right” — the tagline the railroad has placed on the derailment. Those investments have included direct relief totaling $7.4 million to 8,300 families in and around East Palestine, a $1 million Community Fund to support the village’s immediate needs and a $300,000 donation to East Palestine City Schools. NFS also created a community liaison (a resident of East Palestine and NFS employee) who has been authorized to distribute an additional $1 million into the community where it is needed. That liaison is Jeremy Vranesevich.

“Within the first 90 days, Norfolk Southern has done a lot in the community,” Vranesevich said. “We really hit the ground running to show that we are here, we want to make a difference and we stand behind our word. We value this town. We value the people in the town. We are extending our hand out and they have been very receptive in working with us, giving us great ideas on how we can bring this town back to where it needs to be.”

The railroad has also promised a fund to address loss of property values in the wake of the derailment. That plan, which Shaw said will be worked out with the Ohio Attorney General, was described as “relative to some sort of market analysis,” and will also include funding for long-term water testing and health monitoring. To date, no specifics of the plans have been released.

In remediation and cleanup efforts of the derailment site, NFS reported that 36,518 tons of waste soil and more than 14.5 million gallons of contaminated liquid has been removed from the derailment site and that work on the south track was completed on April 14. Work now continues on the north track where the process of excavating and removing contaminated soil will be repeated.

“Norfolk Southern is continuing the cleanup in East Palestine. We are currently removing material underneath the rail bed,” said David Patten, NFS manager of hazardous materials. “Each day, we are making progress to get the material out and properly disposed of at an approved landfill. We are ensuring that all water that is impacted, we’re removing it and sending it away for disposal. Each day, we are showing our commitment to East Palestine and staying on site until the drop is complete to the satisfaction of all the stakeholders.”

Water, air and soil sampling continues throughout the village and surrounding areas. The Environmental Protection Agency, which is overseeing the cleanup work and monitoring for contaminants, has expressed confidence that the water, air and soil are safe. The agency insists that no alarming levels of toxins have been detected in the environment.