A Norfolk Southern freight train has veered off its tracks and plunged into a river in Pennsylvania.
The derailment occurred near the 2200 block of Riverside Drive in Lower Saucon Township on Saturday morning.
No injuries or hazardous leaks have been reported but Norfolk Southern said a ‘small’ diesel fuel leak has been contained with booms and will be vacuumed out.
One car containing plastic pellets spilled predominantly onto the ground, which will also be cleaned up, according to the company.
Dramatic images show the locomotive partially submerged in the Lehigh River.
It comes just days after it emerged that Norfolk Southern CEO Alan H. Shaw received a 37 percent pay rise in 2023, the same year his company was involved in another environmentally disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
A Norfolk Southern freight train has veered off its tracks and plunged into a river in Pennsylvania
The derailment occurred near the 2200 block of Riverside Drive in Lower Saucon Township on Saturday morning
Shaw’s total compensation hit an eyewatering $13.4 million in 2023.
Meanwhile, some East Palestine residents are still yet to return to their homes after they were forced to flee when the derailment dumped thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere.
Rivers were polluted and hundreds of locals complained of ill health including headaches and rashes.
The train was carrying 700,000 pounds of vinyl chloride when 53 of its carriages derailed on February 3, 2023.
No injuries were directly reported at the time, but the cocktail of chemicals caused a huge fire forcing locals to evacuate.
As well as being ecologically damaging, the derailment cost Norfolk Southern an estimated $1.1 billion and sent share prices plummeting by more than a fifth in the two months after the disaster.
Still Shaw was awarded the hefty pay rise, taking his base salary rose up by $200,000 to $1.1 million, while his stock and option awards rose $2.2 million to $10 million.
It comes just days after it emerged that Norfolk Southern CEO Alan H. Shaw received a 37 percent pay rise in the same year his company was involved in a derailment in East Palestine, Ohio
A large plume of smoke rises over East Palestine, Ohio, last year after a controlled detonation of a portion of a derailed Norfolk Southern train to burn off hazardous chemicals
In a proxy filing released on Tuesday, Norfolk Southern confirmed its, ‘unanimous support for the company’s strategy that balances safe and reliable service, continuous productivity improvement and smart growth under the leadership of CEO Alan H. Shaw.’
But the pay rise was slammed by the railroad union, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
‘It’s alarming that the board rewarded Mr. Shaw with a massive raise and total compensation of $13.4 million during the same year he presided over industry-worst operating results, sustained underperformance and a tone-deaf response to the derailment in East Palestine,’ the group told CNN in a statement.
‘This failure of corporate governance … reinforces the need for sweeping changes to Norfolk Southern’s well paid board.’
The union is calling to replace Shaw with Jim Barber Jr., a former chief operating officer at UPS.
Norfolk Southern also boasted of achieving, ‘industry leading safety results’ in 2023, including improvements to ‘accelerate enhancements to its safety culture and operational transformation’ in its statement.
‘This includes new technology, enhanced training and additional staffing, as well as adjustments to network design and train assembly procedures,’ the statement added.
‘Today, the company’s mainline accident rate is the lowest it has been in years and is among the best of the US Class 1 rails.’
Residents have been repeatedly told their homes are safe, yet the Environmental Protection Agency has put signs around creeks and water sources warning people to stay away
This latest accident will no doubt call the statement into question and is of little comfort to East Palestine residents who are still grappling with the aftermath of the disaster.
Air and water tests that state and federal health officials have been conducting haven’t shown concerning levels of vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate or other chemicals in more than 115 million measurements since an evacuation order imposed after the derailment was lifted.
However, locals are still concerned about potential health risks, often noting a chemical sheen atop the creeks that flow through the town of 5,000 people.
The railroad company estimated that the cleanup would cost $800 million, which included $74 million Norfolk Southern pledged to help East Palestine recover.
It promised to spend $25 million refurbishing the town’s park and another $4.3 million to upgrade its water treatment system.
The railroad is spending another $20 million to build a regional training center for first responders to help prepare them to deal with the kind of hazardous materials that spilled in the derailment.
So far, it has give $104 million in community support, according to the company’s website.
It took President Biden more than a year to visit the site. He spent barely two hours there before before leaving to spend the holiday weekend at his beachside home.
Locals made their feelings clear about the delayed visit. His motorcade ran a gauntlet of banners proclaiming, ‘Too Little, Too Late,’ and the streets were lined with people shouting, ‘F*** you.’
‘Norfolk Southern has responded to a derailment in Lower Saucon Township, PA. There is no threat to the public, no hazardous material concerns from the railcars, and no reports of injuries to our crew members,’ a spokesman said.
‘We appreciate the quick, professional response by local emergency agencies. Our crews and contractors will remain on-scene over the coming days to cleanup, and we appreciate the public’s patience while they work as quickly, thoroughly, and as safely as possible.
‘We are always working to advance safety. We will investigate this incident to understand how it happened and prevent others like it.’
A nearby road will be closed for cleanup operations and only the single lane portion of Riverside Drive is impacted.