Stricter standards needed to prevent rail accidents: Expert

SAN DIEGO – Stricter technical standards, such as age limits on freight cars, and more stringent reconditioning standards are critical to ensuring rail safety, an industry expert said Monday.

The derailment of a freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2023, was “a devastating accident” that received enormous media coverage, said Patrick Ameen, vice president of industry relations at Amsted Rail Co. Inc., a Chicago-based manufacturer of components for railcars and locomotives.

Mr. Ameen was speaking during a session at Riskworld, the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc.’s annual conference.

“The fact remains there was an evacuation, but there were no fatalities and no injuries,” Mr. Ameen said. But the derailment caused enormous environmental damage and cleanup and other costs associated with that, he said.

Norfolk Southern Corp., the operator of the train, last month settled a suit with East Palestine residents for $600 million. “Costs are now well over a billion dollars,” Mr. Ameen said.

Operators of the train, which was carrying hazardous chemicals, had slowed its speed and tried to stop it after a wheel bearing on a hopper car that contained plastic pellets overheated.

The roller bearing failed catastrophically, as it came off the end of the axle, Mr. Ameen said.

Thirty-eight cars derailed in the accident, including 11 carrying hazardous materials, he said.

“That bearing was reconditioned in 2012 and mounted onto the axle,” he said.

The railroad industry is heavily regulated and has a “remarkable” safety record, but the East Palestine derailment highlighted the need for proper roller bearing maintenance and tighter regulations to prevent these types of accidents, Mr. Ameen said.

The risks that the transportation industry faces are large, said Jon Drummond, head of broking North America at Willis Towers Watson PLC, who introduced the session.

“When problems happen it’s a significant cause of loss, a material capital expense and [potential] loss of life. These are challenges,” Mr. Drummond said.