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On Feb. 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio.    Followed by a massive blaze and lots of issues with pollution.

From The Independent (https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/pete-buttigieg-ohio-derailment-norfolk-southern-b2286658.html)


Not the first such accident - US rail is has a much worse record that British, for which we should be thankful.  It brings to mind, though Llangennech.

President Obama brought in regulations for the transportation of toxic substances on US Railroads, during his time in office President Trump revoked the regulations.

Trump administration repealed a regulation requiring modern brakes for oil trains and cancelled a plan requiring train operators to be tested for sleep apnoea, withdraw a requirement for two-person crews on trains.

The USA FRA in Trump's time spelt out the broader department attitude toward rail safety:

“DOT’s approach to achieving safety improvements begins with a focus on removing unnecessary barriers and issuing voluntary guidance, rather than regulations that could stifle innovation.”


Derailments and level crossing accidents seem, to me, in the USA just a day to day hazard of running a railway

And 12-hour shifts.

Apparently Trump is going to visit East Palestine today. It'll be interesting to see what he says.

Make America great again?

It might not be prudent for him to mention deregulation of railway safety. 

Prudency and Trump tend not to go together.

This is part of what is referred to the "rust belt" once the industrial heartland of USA manufacturing it was and psoibly will be the part of the USA where his "Make America Great Again" has the biggest appeal.  I'm sure his deregulation of railroads was part of MAGA by allowing easier movement of goods

The NTSB has put out a preliminary report (https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/RRD23MR005.aspx). The technical bit is that an axle bearing overheated, and was detected just before the accident and the drivers told to stop. However, the bearing failed before the train stopped, leading to the derailment. At the previous detector (20 miles away) it was not yet too hot.

47 mph does not seem very fast to cause such a catastrophic derailment, until you take into account the length of the train 149 waggons which can be 67 feet in length 70 to 100 tons.

The use of a knuckle couplers (Janney coupler) with no buffers; these coupling will not prevent rail cars knife jacking, disconnecting in a violent vertical movement, although US rail cars carrying hazardous substances have coupling which is designed to prevent this.