Norfolk Southern train derails hours before CEO testifies before Senate
NS train derails in Alabama hours before CEO testifies in Senate on last month's toxic train derailment in East Palestine.

A Norfolk Southern train derailed Thursday in northeastern Alabama. According to Calhoun County officials, around 30 train cars came off the tracks. Most were empty. The derailment created no injuries, fire, road blockages, or hazardous material leaks.
This is the latest addition to a recent series of incidents involving Norfolk Southern. It came hours before the CEO testified in Senate on the East Palestine train derailment disaster in February.
CEO Alan H. Shaw said, “I am deeply sorry… and I am determined to make it right.” The company has pledged more than $20 million towards compensating families and cleaning the affected areas. It also promised to invest in East Palestine’s recovery and growth.
Norfolk Southern faced harsh scrutiny from Senate. According to Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, the company followed the “Wall Street business model” – hiking up profits while cutting 38% of its workforce in a decade – “the consequences for places like East Palestine be damned.”
Brown claimed the bulk of its “massive profits” were spent on raising executive pay and paying shareholders instead of investing in safety measures.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced Tuesday it would open a special investigation into the company’s safety practices and culture.
Sources (5)
- www.epw.senate.gov
- Norfolk Southern CEO Hearing Statement
- nscorp.mediaroom.com
- Norfolk Southern CEO delivers testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works – Mar 9, 2023
- www.ntsb.gov
- NTSB to Open a Special Investigation into Norfolk Southern Railway’s Safety Practices and Culture
- www.youtube.com
- Update on Norfolk Southern train derailment in Calhoun County – YouTube
- www.epw.senate.gov
- Protecting Public Health and the Environment in the Wake of the Norfolk Southern Train Derailment and Chemical Release in East Palestine, Ohio – Hearings – U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
Media Coverage (9)
- Associated Press
- Norfolk Southern CEO bringing apology, aid to Senate hearing
- Axios
- Norfolk Southern train derails in Alabama, third in several weeks
- Norfolk Southern CEO to testify he’s “deeply sorry”
- Fox News
- Norfolk Southern CEO ‘deeply sorry,’ as senators ready probe
- Reuters
- Norfolk Southern faces harsh US Senate criticism after Ohio derailment
- United Press International
- Norfolk Southern CEO to testify before Senate panel on toxic train disaster
- Wall Street Journal
- Norfolk Southern CEO to Pledge Change at Senate Hearing on Ohio Train Derailment
- Washington Post
- Norfolk Southern train derails in Alabama hours before CEO testifies in Senate
- Live updates Norfolk Southern CEO says he’s ‘deeply sorry’ for train derailment’s impact on Ohio