EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The National Transportation Safety Board’s second day of hearings on the East Palestine train derailment addressed how Norfolk Southern’s detection system works.

Heat detectors didn’t sense an overheated wheel bearing before the derailment until the train was in East Palestine. Video gathered by the NTSB showed an axle on fire miles before it reached East Palestine, according to testimony. Resident Lisa Mahoney watched the testimony unfold.

What You Need To Know

  • Calls for reform in the rail industry were a theme in the second day of the NTSB's East Palestine hearings

  • Part of the hearings focused on the wheel bearing that failed on a train car

  • A rep for Norfolk Southern testified that some of their safety standards come from guidance from the Association of American Railroads

“Maybe they do need to lower the threshold because the temperature was hot. Maybe we need to inspect it more," Mahoney said. 

The NTSB took testimony on whether the train was inspected.

“The answer is no," said Jason Cox of the Transportation Communications Union, after being asked if the train car that went off the tracks was inspected by Norfolk Southern beforehand. 

There are no federal regulations for temperature ranges for hot bearing detectors, for how many detectors should be on a trip or how far apart they should be. A representative for Norfolk Southern said they base some of their standards off guidance from the Association of American Railroads.

“There should be a standard by which all of the railroads function. Not this railroad chooses to do it this way, this railroad chooses to do it this way," Mahoney said. 

The bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023 proposed by Congress would require bearing heat detectors within 10 miles of each other. The NTSB found that the last two detectors in the derailed train's path were 19 miles apart. An A.A.R. representative also weighed in on changing the thresholds for heat detectors.

“If you put the thresholds too low, you’re gonna have a lot of false stops and you’re really gonna bollocks up the railroad system," said Michael Rush of the Association of American Railroads. "You’re gonna cause issues with respect to customer service, and you’re eventually gonna lead to shippers choosing other modes of transportation.”

“Quite honestly, there just needs to be a standard across the board, and that’s getting defect detectors regulated.”

A train wheel bearing expert testified that there are more accurate methods to test a bearing’s condition such as vibration. The representative for the Association of American Railroads testified that they’re taking a second look at some of their guidance. The NTSB cannot implement regulations. They can only make recommendations. Those will likely be in their final report which will be released once their investigation is finished.