Saturday, February 11: Let's Talk Trains
Upside: Great Public Transit. Downside: Occasional Death Machine
Last week we mentioned the Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine, OH, wrecking dozens of train cars and spilling hazardous chemicals into a small town on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. The local community continues to deal with the fallout after a “controlled burn” released some of the toxic contents into the air.
The crash was similar to a train derailment in New Jersey back in 2012 with a train that was carrying the same materials. This time, the decision to conduct a “controlled release” of the dangerous vinyl chloride that was in five of the derailed tanker cars, resulted in sending hydrogen chloride and toxic phosgene gas fumes into the atmosphere.
Train safety in this country is similar to quality train infrastructure, which is to say it’s nonexistent. Federal investigators say this derailment was a result of a mechanical issue with a rail car axle. This is one of many safety concerns railroad workers have been voicing for years. In the last 10 years, Class I carriers (big trains) have dramatically increased both the length and tonnage of the average train while cutting back on things like maintenance and inspection. An accident like this was just waiting to happen.
During the Trump administration, railroad regulators killed safety provisions requiring rail cars carrying hazardous flammable materials to be equipped with electronic braking systems to stop trains more quickly than conventional air brakes. Norfolk Southern had previously touted this new technology, known as Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brakes, for its potential to cut train stopping distance by up to 60%. But Norfolk Southern’s lobby group pressed for the provision’s repeal, telling regulators it would “impose tremendous costs without providing offsetting safety benefits.”
So now, Norfolk Southern, the rail giant whose train ran right off its tracks, has offered to cut the town of East Palestine, OH a check for $25,000. 5,000 people live in East Palestine, along with their animals and their livelihood, so that comes out to about $5 a person.
This is a company worth $55 billion.
Side Items
Toronto’s Mayor Exits: The figurehead of Canada’s largest city has stepped down after acknowledging he had an affair with a former staffer. The 68-year-old married man was previously known as a straight-laced, button down conservative, but now he joins the ranks of previous Toronto mayor Rob Ford, whose term was persistently plagued by scandals involving public drinking and crack/cocaine use. Something might be in the water out there in Toronto, and it may very well be vinyl chloride
New Fast and Furious Trailer Dropped: It’s well worth 3 and a half minutes of your time to indulge in the latest absurdities to occur in the Torreto-verse. This film will feature ~four Oscar winners, several plane crashes, and one champion of WWE’s SUUUUUPERSLAM Event alongside a legend of the big screen who increasingly resembles a thumb with each passing day