Ohio train derailment cost Norfolk Southern nearly $1B so far this year

Norfolk Southern reported profit loss in third quarter
Train derailment, drop in fuel surcharge revenue, flat volume contributed
In total, Norfolk Southern has paid $966 million toward derailment costs

Updated: Oct 25, 2023 / 09:44 AM CDT

FILE – A plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of the controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, Feb. 6, 2023. After the catastrophic train car derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, some officials are raising concerns about a type of toxic substance that tends to stay in the environment. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

(NewsNation) — Norfolk Southern has paid nearly $1 billion in costs for the train derailment in East Palestine earlier this year that caused environmental and health concerns for those in the small Ohio community.

In total, Norfolk Southern has paid $966 million, according to a news release announcing the company’s third-quarter results,

During the third quarter, Norfolk paid $163 million toward derailment costs. In the second quarter, Norfolk paid $416 million, and in the first, $387 million. Meanwhile, the railroad recently collected its first $25 million payment from its insurers. Norfolk Southern expects its insurance companies to eventually cover most of the cost of the derailment, the Associated Press reported.

The total profit Norfolk, one of the nation’s largest railroads operating in the Eastern United States, made in the third quarter was $478 million, or $2.10 per share. That’s half of last year’s $958 million, or $4.10 per share. Without the derailment costs, the railroad would have made $601 million this quarter.

While the train derailment costs partly caused this profit loss, a drop in its fuel surcharge revenue and flat volume also didn’t help.

The derailment in February caused the evacuation of nearly half of the town’s residents after first responders intentionally burned toxic chemicals in some cars to prevent an explosion.

Norfolk Southern faced number of lawsuits related to the incident, including a civil complaint from the Justice Department.

While federal officials claim tests show the air and water in town remain safe, other independent test results have found potentially dangerous levels of dioxins in the soil around the area, even after the Environmental Protection Agency told people it was safe to return. High levels of dioxins and other chemicals in the air, soil and water, in some cases thousands of times higher than controls, were found during these tests, NewsNation has previously reported.

Dioxins take a long time to break down in the environment and have been associated with cancer, reproductive problems and damage to the immune system.

Residents have told NewsNation that they’ve noticed strange symptoms since the incident. Others have said they’ve had health problems, including seizures, after returning to the area.

Now, a government watchdog group is requesting more records from the EPA on its chemical testing.

NewsNation digital producers Andrew Dorn, Steph Whiteside and the Associated Press contributed to this article.