CLEVELAND — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released three separate preliminary reports Monday regarding recent incidents involving Norfolk Southern, including the death of a conductor in Cleveland after a train collided with a dump truck earlier this month.
The incident in Cleveland took place at approximately 1:08 a.m. on March 7. The conductor, 46-year-old Louis Shuster of Broadview Heights, was killed when his Norfolk Southern train collided with a dump truck as they simultaneously entered a private grade crossing in the Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. steel plant in the 2600 block of West 3rd Street.
The NTSB report says Shuster was riding on the end platform of the lead railcar during "a shoving movement" when he was pinned between the railcar and the dump truck during the collision. The event recorder indicates that the train was traveling about 9 mph at the time of the collision; the maximum authorized speed within the steel plant was 10 mph. The private grade crossing where the accident occurred was equipped with stop signs facing both directions of approach.
After stopping, the Cleveland Division of Police say the truck — a Caterpillar 769C — proceeded forward and collided with the front left side of the first train car, which was operating in a southerly direction. Shuster was pronounced dead at the scene.
Shuster was one of two crew members on the train, along with an engineer in the locomotive cab. The train was composed of one locomotive and 12 mixed railcars: Four residue tank cars and empty covered hopper cars. The dump truck was driven by a TMS International employee and was hauling a full load of limestone, according to the Cleveland Division of Police.
NTSB investigators add that visibility conditions at the time of the accident were dark and clear, while the temperature was 34°F with no precipitation.
Norfolk Southern and TMS International estimate that the total damages to equipment is around $42,000.
The NTSB says that its investigation is ongoing. "Future investigative activity will focus on industry-wide operational rules for conductors riding equipment through highway–railroad grade crossings and Cleveland-Cliffs’ methods of protection at private grade crossings," the report adds.
As a result of this accident, the Federal Railroad Administration issued “Safety Advisory 2023-02: Highway-Rail Grade Crossing and Shove Movement Accident,” noting the importance of proper training, oversight, job briefings, and crew communication to protect safety at highway–railroad grade crossings.
On the same day of the Cleveland-Cliffs collision, the NTSB announced that it would be launching a special investigation into Norfolk Southern Railway's organization and safety culture. The probe also came on the heels of the derailment in East Palestine, as well as those in Indiana and in Springfield, Ohio.
The NTSB's Springfield preliminary report indicates eight wheelsets were recovered from two of the 28 Norfolk Southern railcars that derailed on March 4. Photographs taken after the derailment showed three wheels from the eight wheelsets “exhibited movement on their axles,” the board said. No injuries were reported. Norfolk Southern estimated damages to equipment, track, and signal infrastructure from the derailment to be about $2.6 million.
The other report showed that a Norfolk Southern train that derailed in Alabama earlier this month lacked required alignment control couplers and a company inspection didn't identify their absence.
Editor's Note: The Associated Press contributed to this report
