Sandusky Register: Keep rail companies honest

Preliminary reports from the National Transportation Safety Board indicate that automated alerts triggered by track monitoring devices may have been ignored just prior to the train derailments in Sandusky in October and in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month.

In other words, human error.

According to news reports, the outcome in both instances could have been avoided if the alerts had been observed and the trains stopped for correction. Heat detecting devices along the tracks found train wheels overheating just prior to the derailments.

In Sandusky, there’s still no estimate for damages caused by the derailment over the Columbus Avenue train bridge — the subway there — and there isn’t even a target date for when the street can be fully opened again.

In East Palestine, the damages appear to be far worse and life-threatening.

Let the recriminations begin — charges and counter-charges about whether the state or the federal government is doing enough to protect the residents of East Palestine, or if deregulation led to a downgrade of safety precautions.

It’s far more important, that the focus remain on Norfolk Southern, the rail company — which, if the early NTSB reports are correct, overlooked its own safety protocols to get to the station on time. It’s more important to look at what’s being done to keep communities safe in an era in which running freight trains is a 24/7 race designed for maximum efficiency and profitability.

In other words, Norfolk Southern and other rail companies are operating in their own, pure self-interest, and protecting communities is something our governments must make sure is the top priority.

Whatever went wrong needs to be identified and addressed, or the next derailment likely will be even more tragic.