On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, thrusting the issue of rail safety into the national spotlight.
No one was killed or injured in the derailment, but the incident was described as a “PR nightmare” for Norfolk Southern NSC.
And the railway industry. The derailed cars included 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that later caught fire, fueling fires that damaged an additional 12 train cars, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The shock waves from the accident still reverberate through the industry and on Capitol Hill, prompting passage of the Railroad Safety Act. On Wednesday, Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington and chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, again urged Congress to pass the bipartisan bill.
“In the year after the East Palestine derailment, rail safety went in the wrong direction,” Cantwell said, noting that the number of derailments since East Palestine rose by more than 13 percent.
Related: 'We'll do whatever it takes': Norfolk Southern CEO
Supply chain analytics firm Everstream Analytics says accidents on Union Pacific Corp.'s Class I railroad main lines. UNP,
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BNSF from last year through October increased by 11% compared to the same period in 2022. Derailments involving Class I railroads also increased by 13.5% year over year, according to Everstream.
A Class I railroad is defined as any carrier with annual revenues of more than $1.032 billion, according to the U.S. government's Surface Transportation Board. Canada Pacific Kansas City Limited CP,
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It is also classified as a Class I railway. The Federal Railroad Administration defines a trunk line as “a portion or route of railroad track through which 5 million gross tons or more of rail freight traffic is carried annually.”
The railroad industry says the latest safety data from the FRA tells a different, more optimistic story. Based on preliminary data from FRA for the January to November time frame, the most recent available, there were 3,105 train accidents per million train miles in 2023, down from 3,340 train accidents per million train miles in the same period the previous year. The figure for 2021 was 2,935 accidents per million train miles, while the previous three years were in a similar range.
Related: Norfolk Southern stock headed for biggest gain since 2020 after report of investor-led change — but one analyst flags doubts
Additionally, there were five employee fatalities in calendar year 2023, according to FRA data, down from seven in 2022 and eight in 2021. “2023 had the lowest number of employee fatalities in the history of the industry,” an American Railroad Association spokesperson said. Iron. MarketWatch said. “While one fatality is one too many, the railroad continues to make progress in its enduring responsibility to ensure every rail driver returns home safely at the end of every day.”
In a statement last week, the AAR cited efforts by Class I railroads to enhance rail safety and prevent derailments. In particular, she pointed to initiatives such as increasing hot bearing detectors, or HBDs, across major routes, and implementing a new industry standard for stopping and inspecting trains when an HBD reading exceeds 170 degrees Fahrenheit. HBDs are installed on the sides of the tracks and use infrared technology to monitor wheel bearing temperatures and prevent overheating.
In addition, more than 99.9% of all hazardous materials transported by rail reach their destination without being released due to a train accident, according to the AAR. “The fact remains that rail is the safest way to move goods, including hazardous materials, over land, and we are in the safest era ever in terms of rail safety,” an AAR spokesperson told MarketWatch.
A Norfolk Southern spokesperson told MarketWatch that in 2023, the company's FRA accident rate declined 10% year-over-year. During a fourth-quarter earnings call last week, Paul Duncan, Norfolk Southern's chief operating officer, said the company finished 2023 with a 42% decline in its mainline accident rate, and the lowest number of mainline accidents since 1999.
Related: Norfolk Southern books another charge for Ohio derailment and loses profit again
CSX told MarketWatch that its train accident rate was lower in 2023 than the previous year. “Safety is an unwavering commitment and a core value at CSX,” a company spokesperson said. “We are proud of our safety record and will never stop striving to improve it.”
BNSF told MarketWatch that its accident rate is also declining. “Although the full FRA report for last year has not yet been released, over the past four years, including [year-to-date] “By 2023, BNSF’s mainline accident rate has declined by more than 15 percent,” a BNSF spokesperson said.
“For example, a few decades ago it was not uncommon for there to be more than 20 rail equipment accidents per year due to a defective journal (wheel) bearing,” the spokesman added. “In recent years, we have reduced this number of magazine carrying incidents to the low single digits, while continuing on our way to zero. This is thanks to the development and use of hot bearing detectors (HBDs), along with common algorithms and handling instructions .
“It is also worth noting that rail remains the safest form of ground transportation and has continued to improve and become safer over time,” the BNSF spokesperson said. “Train accidents continue to decline through the use of extensive training, processes and new technology.”
In a recent article on Union Pacific's website, Eric Gehringer, the company's executive vice president of operations, said serious derailments on the Union Pacific network were down 26% in 2023 compared to 2019, while the average maximum train length grew. Over the past 10 years, track-related derailments have decreased by 28%, Gehringer added.
Related: CSX enters into an agreement for paid sick leave with the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
Union Pacific has a network of more than 7,000 roadside detectors that monitor the status of freight cars and locomotives in real time, and the company plans to add more, Gehringer explained.
