LORAIN, Ohio — Rail Safety Week is rolling along, and in that spirit, Norfolk Southern brought its safety train into Lorain on Wednesday.
While the week is meant to educate the public about how to stay safe around railroad tracks, the safety train visit is part of a training session to help strengthen coordination between railroads and first responders in the event of an emergency response, similar to February's train derailment in East Palestine. The derailment of that Norfolk Southern train released toxic chemicals, causing evacuations as well as health and safety concerns.
On Wednesday, a safety train was used to create a training exercise at a Norfolk Southern railyard in Lorain. First responders, including firefighters and HAZMAT crews from across Northeast Ohio, were told there were leaks aboard a train carrying materials like chlorine, propane, and ethanol. First responders then had to practice assessing the situation, establishing mobile command posts, suiting up, and addressing the problem.
So what changes has Norfolk Southern made since the derailment in Columbiana County?
"We’ve increased and improved our wayside detector network, that is an ongoing effort that we’re continuing to do. That’s the type of thing on the railroad that can detect problems," explained Connor Spielmaker, the senior communications director for Norfolk Southern. "We’re also accelerating our programs for our next generation inspection portals that use high-speed cameras to basically take a picture of a train going by, in real time at high speed, of the entire rail car. They can identify things that may be wearing down, that may need to be replaced, and that’s going to be active here soon as well.”
While Norfolk Southern is trying to help get first responders some hands-on experience in learning to respond to emergencies in practice settings like Lorain, it's also important for the company to build relationships. That way, the first time first responders are meeting Norfolk Southern workers isn't when it's too late.
"It is important to have those relationships ahead of time so that they know us, trust us, and understand what we might have to talk about or what might need to be done in an incident," Spielmaker added.
These opportunities for hands on learning are important for local departments, according to Solon fire Chief and director for Chagrin Southeast HAZMAT team Mark Vedder.
“It’s really important for us to be able to be prepared to handle emergencies in our communities," he said. "We have a lot of train traffic that goes through Cuyahoga County. Fortunately 99. 9% of that goes through very safely and without a problem, but we do have to be prepared for when accidents to happen.”
Norfolk Southern's safety train previously made a stop in Bellevue, Ohio, and Norfolk Southern says it will make about a dozen stops this year. Members of the East Palestine Fire Department attended those trainings in Bellevue, as did other departments in the area, according to Norfolk Southern.
In the meantime, there will be a groundbreaking for a public safety training center in the East Palestine area that Norfolk Southern committed to building on Thursday morning.
Previous Reporting:
- Norfolk Southern announces details of plan to pay for lost home values because of East Palestine derailment
- Ohio train derailment 2023: Norfolk Southern CEO promises to keep improving safety on the railroad based on consultant's report
- Ohio Senate panel releases rail safety report commissioned after East Palestine toxic train derailment