ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern will create a new regional first responder training center in Ohio and expand the outreach of its safety train that travels the system to provide firefighters with hands-on tank car training.
NS will work with Ohio officials to determine a site for the training center, the railroad announced on Wednesday. The mission of the center will be to provide additional training to first responders in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, and to strengthen coordination between railroads and local emergency crews.
The training center concept arose from discussions between NS CEO Alan Shaw and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in the wake of the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
“These commitments are the direct result of my conversations with Governor DeWine and other leaders, all to better support our first responders and their communities. First responders are often immediately on the scene of a rail incident, and we want to ensure they have the knowledge and tools to work safely and effectively to protect the health and safety of their fellow citizens,” Shaw said in a statement. “I want to reiterate our profound gratitude to the first responders from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia who rushed to the derailment site on February 3rd.”
While the training center location is being selected, NS will begin classes on March 22 at its yard in Bellevue, Ohio.
“The derailment in East Palestine made clear that ensuring first responders are prepared for disasters involving hazardous materials is vitally important to the safety of communities,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “Often, first responders are volunteers, and their need to have the most up-to-date training and equipment is vitally important. Today’s commitment by Norfolk Southern is an important next step in the company’s commitment to make the citizens of Ohio and of East Palestine whole after the recent derailments, a commitment Ohio will continue to monitor closely.”
NS’s Operation Awareness & Response program will make four stops in Ohio this year as part of its 12-stop schedule in communities across the railroad.
The safety train includes a dedicated locomotive, specially equipped classroom box cars, and several tank cars designed to provide first responders with hands-on training. It also provides training on the AskRail mobile app that enables first responders to use their mobile phones to look up commodity and response information on rail shipments.
Commonly referred to as “Crisis Management “.
This NS incident is going to cost the 7 Class 1s much similar to Chatsworth. Now will the mitigation be as slow as PTC ? Expect not. but 1000+ additional defect detectors is not going to be cheap. Maybe $300M ? Then 15 – 25 Signal maintainers to install and service the detectors ongoing.
And the walk of shame continues.
Now, shouldn’t trucking, marine and air companies have to provide the same at their expense?
Aviation DOES provide drop-down oxygen for the passengers on pressurized aircraft (e.g. not on a DC-3).
Cabin crew and flight crew have stricter requirements.
Hooray! government and industry working together for the benefit of workers and the community. This should happen all the time, so it should not be so newsworthy and it should not take a disaster, that luckily claimed no human lives immediately.