A nationally recognized train safety expert is taking the railroad industry to task, calling it “one of the most protected and coddled industries in our country.”

Bob Comer, formerly of Alliance and now living in Kansas, has spent 33 years investigating more than 800 rail accidents and derailments. He believes the Feb. 3 derailment of an eastbound Norfolk Southern freight train in East Palestine was avoidable and boils it down to “safety last and money first.”

Norfolk Southern, however, points to its $200 million in investments on its network, over time, to reduce derailments and enhance safety.

Comer, 75, was a kid in 1956 when family members were seriously hurt in a train accident in Alliance. He said their car passed an unmarked crossing and was hit by a passenger train that failed to sound its horn. The incident had a profound effect on him and is why he tried to learn everything he could about trains.

In his spare time, he read up on the industry he said is responsible for “helping to build our country.”

Comer has trained with a former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio rail inspector and a nationally-recognized expert in railroad crossing accident investigation and reconstruction, and testified as an expert witness in a criminal trial involving the deaths of two people at an unguarded railroad crossing. He’s assisted law enforcement agencies in investigations of railroad-related accidents across the U.S.

According to his bio, Comer spent time in Vietnam in the Navy and majored in computer science at the University of Akron. He spent 31 years running mainframe computers for companies in the banking security, communication and transportation businesses.

200 YEARS OF RAILROADING

Comer noted the worst railroad accident in Ohio was in 1876 when a poorly-constructed bridge in Ashtabula collapsed under the weight of a train, which plunged into a gorge below. The accident killed 92, some from the accident itself, the rest from a fire that broke out after.

Comer said he sees that accident, often called “The Ashtabula Horror,” as an early indication that the industry cared more about money than people.

Comer further noted the nearly 200-year-old industry is still using a track system from the 1800s. He said flanges on train wheels are designed to keep the wheel on a rail, but those in use on today’s trains are too small.

The lateral pressure put on them when a train is rounding a curve may cause failure if a train is moving too fast: “That is a derailment, plain and simple,” he said.

He believes longer flanges would significantly decrease derailments but said “it would cost billions” for companies to upgrade.

Norfolk Southern, the rail company responsible for the devastating Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, recently issued a six-point plan to enhance safety and detect problems that could lead to future derailments. Plans include enhancement of the hot bearing detector network and upgrades to equipment and technology.

The plan was released on the heels of four Ohio derailments since October 2022. A day after the announcement, another Norfolk Southern train derailed in Springfield Township.

THE WRECKAGE

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report found 38 rail cars derailed in East Palestine at about 8:54 p.m. Feb. 3. The derailment, which led to evacuations, included 11 tank cars carrying combustible liquids and flammable liquids and gas, including vinyl chloride, a petrochemical. A fire started, damaging an additional 12 cars that had not derailed.

A hot bearing detector (HBD) on the east side of East Palestine had sounded an audible alarm, telling the crew to slow and stop to inspect a hot axle. The NTSB reported the train passed three HBD systems prior to the derailment.

The train carried a crew of three — a locomotive engineer, a conductor and a conductor trainee. Sparks and flames can be seen on video from a Salem business under one of the train cars, about 20 miles out.

The NTSB reported the train, with 149 rail cars, was traveling about 47 mph at the time of the derailment. The maximum speed allowed for that train is 50 mph, according to the report.

Comer said he questions whether the crew received a hot box warning, and if so, what instructions they received. He wants to know why the train didn’t stop then and said, from his experience, nothing happens along the rail line without the rail companies knowing about it.

The railroad, via spokeswoman Katelyn L. Byrd, responded that the preliminary NTSB report indicates the crew operated the train within the company’s rules, and 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.”

She continued: “The company’s wayside detectors on its network trigger an alarm at a temperature threshold that is among the lowest in the rail industry. Norfolk Southern has an extensive wayside detection network deployed across our rail lines. Approximately 1,000 hot bearing detectors inspect each wheel bearing on each car as it passes, resulting in more than 2 billion readings each year.

“When something abnormal is detected, a warning message is sent to the passing train so, if necessary, immediate action may be taken, including stopping the train. Each of these detectors is also networked with the Norfolk Southern data center. The detector data along with the additional information is available to our help desk who aid in determining any appropriate action by the train crew. …

“This is a significant safety investment of more than $200,000,000 over time that aims to further reduce derailments of this nature on our network, which have significantly declined since we put them into use and have advanced the technology over time.”

CONTROLLED BURN

By Feb. 5, the fire at the East Palestine derailment site was out, but five derailed tank cars carrying 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride concerned officials because the temperature in one car continued to rise. Saying this posed an explosion risk, officials on Feb. 6 began a controlled burn that continued for several hours.

Comer questions Norfolk Southern’s decision to initiate a controlled burn, saying the company’s money-making line runs between Washington, D.C., and Chicago, which East Palestine falls along, and a backup of trains along the track would stifle business.

“It seems to me they could have easily cooled the one car that was getting hot,” he said. “Why didn’t they just spray it with foam?”

The railroad responded: “On Sunday afternoon, Feb. 5, during the monitoring of the derailed cars, it was found that the pressure relief devices on some of the cars had stopped working. If not addressed, it could result in a catastrophic failure of the cars. In coordination among all agencies and stakeholders, we have put together a plan to manually vent the cars. The contents were drained in a controlled fashion. To protect the environment, we prepared pits and embankments to drain the material to be remediated. Throughout, we monitored air quality with local and state officials.”

Comer called Norfolk Southern’s safety record “terrible” and said rail companies aren’t held accountable for negligence or safety issues because they are self-insured.

The railroad responded: “… we diligently monitor our trains and infrastructure to identify potential hazards, and we invest approximately a billion dollars into maintaining our infrastructure annually. Our industry-leading engineering and mechanical teams are executing projects that enhance our inspection quality and infrastructure to provide safer outcomes.”

NORFOLK SOUTHERN PLANS

Norfolk Southern provided an outlook to highlight efforts in coming days: moving contaminated soil and water from the site for proper disposal; removing areas of track; expanding groundwater monitoring; sampling post-rain sediment at area waterways; capturing rainwater within the contaminated area for temporary storage and disposal; and removing liquid waste from the site to permitted disposal facilities.

This is in addition to daily air monitoring, weekly sampling of the village’s drinking water; sampling private water wells; and monitoring surface water quality in the area, the email states.

What the community can expect during cleanup, it adds, is: intermittent odors; more traffic, workers, vehicles and equipment in the community as crews continue work; noise, although attempts will be made to limit it near residential areas; and traffic closures on Taggart Road as waste is hauled out.

Further, Norfolk Southern announced it will create a new regional training center in Ohio for first responders, partner with community leaders to identify a location for the new facility, and expand its Operation Awareness and Response program, which travels the company’s 22-state network and trains first responders on how to respond safely to rail incidents.

While the location for the dedicated facility is selected, training classes will commence on March 22 at Norfolk Southern’s yard in Bellevue. The mission of the safety training center will be to provide additional, free training for first responders from Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the greater region, and to strengthen coordination between railroads and first responders in the event of an emergency response, Norfolk Southern said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently announced thousands of residents of East Palestine and portions of Pennsylvania within a mile of the derailment site will receive assistance with temporary lodging, food, travel and clothing during cleanup.

In an email to this newspaper, the company said it will be present in the community as long as it takes: “We’re committed to helping the community of East Palestine thrive and to being responsive to long-term needs.”

REGULATIONS AND PENALTIES

U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, and J.D. Vance, R-Cincinnati, have co-sponsored the Railway Safety Act of 2023 to establish new regulations for the railroad industry and outline financial consequences for failing to follow them.

Brown has said he worries the rail industry has enough power to fight regulations, and acknowledged the bill has a good chance of passing the Senate but may not pass the Republican-controlled House.

If passed, the act would include new safety regulations for trains carrying hazardous chemicals, require rail carriers to notify state emergency response personnel about what they’re transporting and lower derailment risk by imposing train size and weight limits.

It would also establish new requirements for monitoring wheel bearings.

“Rail lobbyists have fought stronger safety standards for years, and Ohio communities like East Palestine and Springfield have paid the price,” Brown said in an email. “It’s why Senator Vance and I wrote these commonsense bipartisan safety measures: to finally hold big railroad companies accountable, and to make our railroads and the Ohio towns along them safer.”

A news release issued by Seth Schuster, the White House regional communications director, said America’s railways are “indispensable” to the economy and way of life. A number of high-profile freight rail incidents in the early 2010s led to new rail safety rules which were strongly opposed by the railroad industry, Schuster said.

Derailments have decreased by 15 percent since then, he said, but explained there are still more than 1,000 derailments each year — calling it proof the industry needs to do more in terms of safety.

COST CUTTING

Comer said the railroad industry — with permission from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) — got rid of cabooses in 1984 to save money. Cabooses housed a crew responsible for identifying shifting loads, equipment damage and overheating axles. The industry instead decided to install hot box detectors along the rail, a move he called “the biggest destruction to rail safety in the history of the industry.”

Vince Verna, vice president and national legislative representative with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) in Washington, D.C., said the railroad industry adopted a cost-cutting model a few years ago to maximize profits. “It’s really created a lot of incentive to cut corners,” he said, adding that companies have fought to roll back regulations that would get in the way of that goal.

That model, called precision scheduled railroading (PSR), means there are fewer workers, bigger trains and heavier loads to guarantee a bigger payout for shareholders, Comer explained.

Verna is starting his 30th year in the railroad industry and said his prior role at the BLET was director for regulatory affairs. He said all the lessons learned from past derailments and accidents are being forgotten, in the name of profit. “We saw it in slow motion and it’s painful to watch,” he added.

Verna said he spent 18 years as a railroad engineer in Arizona and believes the industry has for years been lacking in the areas of inspections, testing and maintenance. “Detectors can’t be the only safeguard,” he said, explaining that cutting jobs for inspectors has “taken away another part of the safety net.”

Comer said he understands why East Palestine residents are so mad and wonders what the future holds for the town, its residents’ health, property values and the environment. He said soil, water and air contamination could be an ongoing issue and that a chemist told him testing would need to continue “for years to come” to determine the exact impact.

“This is like a 9-11 situation in Ohio,” he added.

The railroad said: “The municipal water continues to be sampled and monitored by the Columbiana County Health District, along with a team of independent scientists. Results show no water quality concerns. Testing has been performed on approximately 188 private drinking water wells. Test results will be shared with individual residents.”

But Comer predicts that another disaster of this magnitude is inevitable unless Congress and the FRA put safety over profit. “If they don’t do something about it, there’s going to be another East Palestine,” he said.