(The following story by Gregory Richards appeared on The Virginian-Pilot website on May 14.)
NORFOLK Va. — Federal investigators on Tuesday pinned the blame for the 2006 derailment of a Norfolk Southern Corp. ethanol train in New Brighton, Pa., on an “inadequate” rail inspection and maintenance program.
That substandard rail program at the Norfolk-based railroad caused a section of rail to fracture, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The Federal Railroad Administration’s lack of oversight of the rail inspection process and its insufficient requirements for rail inspection also contributed to the accident, the board concluded.
About 20 of the 23 derailed tank cars released ethanol, causing a huge fire that burned for two days and forced roughly 100 residents to be evacuated. Several of the rail cars fell into the Beaver River, as the derailment occurred on a bridge near Pittsburgh. There were no injuries or fatalities in the Oct. 20, 2006, incident.
“Because Norfolk Southern did not have an adequate rail inspection and maintenance program, they put the public, crew and environment at risk,” Mark V. Rosenker, the safety board’s chairman, said in a statement.
The safety board is an independent federal agency that investigates major transportation accidents.
Norfolk Southern spokesman Robin Chapman said Tuesday that he was not able to comment on the board’s ruling because it had not yet been reviewed by railroad officials. Steven Kulm, a Railroad Administration spokesman, declined to comment on the report’s specifics.
The track that fractured was last inspected before the accident on Aug. 1, the safety board said. The top of the track was well-worn, and Norfolk Southern hired a contractor to check the inside of the steel rail using ultrasonic sound waves. During the test, the sound waves did not reach the bottom of the rail at various spots along a nine-foot-long stretch of track, indicating possible track problems, according to the safety board. The fracture occurred in that section, the board found.
Consistent with Norfolk Southern’s guidelines for track inspections, the contractor did not re-check that track section, the board said. That ran counter to Railroad Administration regulations, the safety board said.
However, in its previously released report on the accident, the Railroad Administration determined that Norfolk Southern did not violate federal rail safety rules, Kulm said.
The safety board does not have the power to levy fines or penalties, but issues non-binding recommendations to prevent future occurrences. Among the recommended changes are to have the Railroad Administration review all railroads’ procedures to look for internal rail flaws and to require railroads to develop a different type of rail inspection and maintenance program.
The board also wants Norfolk Southern to revise its ultrasonic rail inspection procedures.
Kulm said Railroad Administration officials know the agency needs to add expertise regarding how train tracks are checked for internal defects and is hiring nine staff members to tackle that issue.