Norfolk Southern determines ‘urgent railcar safety issue’ after loose wheels found on rail cars in second Ohio derailment

By Rob Frehse, Michelle Krupa and Gabe Cohen, CNN

Norfolk Southern found loose wheels on a series of rail cars involved in last week’s derailment near Springfield, Ohio, the company has announced, the latest safety problem to emerge as scrutiny intensifies on the operator — and US freight safety broadly — following that wreck, a toxic derailment five weeks ago in another Ohio town and a derailment Thursday in Alabama.

In probing the Springfield wreck scene Sunday, the company “determined that a specific model and series of rail cars had loose wheels, which could cause a derailment,” officials said Thursday in a statement, calling it an “urgent railcar safety issue.”

Norfolk Southern also found cases of “unusual wheel movement” on other cars it runs in the same “recently acquired” series — which other rail operators also use — the company said in a statement that did not name the manufacturer.

As a result, the Association of American Railroads issued an advisory to halt the use of these cars until they can be inspected for the wheel sets in question. It instructs railroad companies to inspect and remove wheel sets “mounted by National Steel Car” between August and this month because “these wheels sets are at an increased risk of an out of gage derailment,” states the advisory, which the trade group sent to CNN.

“Any cars, loaded or empty, found so equipped must have the NSC-T mounted wheel sets removed immediately as directed below,” the memo reads.

Railroad officials believe there are nearly 700 rail cars nationwide similar to the defective ones with loose wheels involved in the Springfield, Ohio, derailment.

AAR told CNN roughly 675 of the cars were initially identified to have this issue in use nationwide, and Norfolk Southern said it has about 200 of them.

National Steel Car told CNN in a statement it was “cooperating fully” with Norfolk Southern and the Association of American Railroads.

“We have provided the initial records requested by Norfolk Southern and the AAR, with respect to three wheelpairs, on the two railcars of concern that were in the train consist that derailed,” its statement said. “We await the findings of the (National Transportation Safety Board’s) investigation and will continue to cooperate fully.”

A Norfolk Southern spokesperson told CNN that they are pulling the impacted rail cars from operation to replace the wheel sets.

Investigators have not specified the cause of the Springfield derailment and the NTSB told CNN the role the wheel set issue may have played remains under investigation.

The Federal Railroad Administration told CNN it is “still evaluating the issue to determine if any action is warranted by the agency.”

“The investigation into the cause of the accident is still underway,” the company said.

Norfolk Southern this week announced a six-point safety plan, including a revamp of its system that detects overheated wheel bearings, and its CEO was grilled Thursday by a key US Senate panel about health and safety concerns following the February 3 derailment and toxic spill in East Palestine.

In the meantime, a bipartisan group of senators has proposed a new bill aimed at shoring up rail safety. Without endorsing all provisions of the Railway Safety Act of 2023, CEO Alan Shaw told senators that Norfolk Southern is “committed to the legislative intent to make rail safer.”

After the loose wheels were discovered during cleanup of the March 4 derailment in Springfield, Norfolk Southern informed the NTSB and Federal Railroad Administration, and “began inspecting other cars from this series on our network,” its statement read.

“We also notified the manufacturer and worked urgently to inform the rest of the railroad industry, as Norfolk Southern is not the only user of these cars,” it said.

Nothing spilled from cars that derailed on Saturday, and there was no environmental harm, authorities said, though the wreck knocked out power temporarily nearby.

While Shaw testified on Thursday, crews responded to the Alabama derailment some 90 miles east of Birmingham. No waste or leak resulted after the derailment of 37 cars, mostly carrying mixed freight, Norfolk Southern spokesperson Connor Spielmaker said, adding two of the cars previously had hauled hazardous material.

The NTSB responded to the scene, he said.

Ohio governor, EPA dispute over cited delays

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine was critical of the federal EPA on Friday, expressing concern over what he called a delay in removing contaminated soil from East Palestine more than a month after the derailment.

“The needs of this community are essentially getting lost in all this red tape,” DeWine said in a news release. “The fact that waste removal has stalled is outrageous.”

The EPA has added an extra step to the removal process, DeWine’s office said. DeWine called on the EPA and Norfolk Southern to find more sites for waste disposal, adding, “It’s time to get this process moving.”

Only 2,980 tons have been removed and the remaining pile is approximately 24,400 tons of excavated soil, the governor’s office said.

In response, a spokesperson for the EPA told CNN on Friday that the governor is “mistaken” in his remarks.

“In no way, shape, or form has EPA been a roadblock to shipping waste offsite,” EPA spokesperson Maria Michalos said in a statement.

The contaminated waste is currently in the process of being transported to the appropriate disposal facilities, with nearly 200,000 pounds moved in the last day, Michalos said Friday, adding that contaminated liquids are also being removed quickly.

“EPA has not imposed any conditions that have prevented shipments of waste to appropriate facilities.” Michalos added. “As Norfolk Southern enters into contracts with facilities with greatly expanded capacity, the rate of shipments is expected to increase significantly — as soon as tomorrow (Saturday).”

The agency reiterated its vows to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for “the damage it inflicted on this community,” and that includes legal responsibilities to remove the waste quickly, Michalos noted.

“The needs of the East Palestine community remain a top priority for this Administration,” Michalos added.

CNN has reached out to Norfolk Southern for comment on DeWine’s remarks.

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CNN’s Ella Nilsen, Clare Foran, Paradise Afshar and Melissa Alonso contributed to this report.