Norfolk Southern Must Pay The $600 Million Settlement In 2023 East Palestine Derailment

Environmental Protection Agency

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio –– This week, an Ohio jury decided that Norfolk Southern was responsible for the $600 million settlement agreement with East Palestine residents and that GATX was not liable in the accident.

The Associated Press reported that GATX, the company that owned the car with the bad wheel bearing that eventually resulted in the 2023 East Palestine derailment, did not have to help pay for the settlement. GATX’s position has been that since NS inspected and operated the train, the railroad was responsible for seeing that it reached its destination safely.

GATX said in a statement that “GATX is pleased with the trial outcome, which affirms what we have known for some time: Norfolk Southern alone is responsible for the derailment and resulting damage in East Palestine.”

Norfolk Southern said that the verdict would in no way impact the commitments the railroad has already made to those impacted by the derailment. The railroad also said, however, that the verdict was a not one they were pleased with.

In a statement, the railroad said “For more than two years, Norfolk Southern has paid the costs related to the derailment while acknowledging and acting on our own responsibility for the accident. Our belief has always been that GATX shares in that responsibility and should also be held to account.”

Readers will recall that once the East Palestine derailment occurred, there were chemical spills from the train that caught fire. Authorities were worried about how five tank cars filled with vinyl chloride would react to the heat. Three days later, they decided to vent the tank cars, generating a huge plume of black smoke over the area, which required people to evacuate.

AP reports that there was a similar lawsuit last year that pitted NS against GATX and OxyVinyls (the manufacturer of the vinyl chloride) for help in paying expenses stemming from the environmental mitigation, but NS lost that suit.

Norfolk Southern and Oxyvinyls did reach a settlement last week after NS argued that the uncertain and varied information provided by Oxyvinyls on the wisdom of executing the vent-and-burn operation which released the chemicals was inadequate. However, the agreement details were not released.