Norfolk Southern's Hazmat Safety Train

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In the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio derailment and controlled burn on February 3rd, 2023, Norfolk Southern has begun an aggressive, system-wide safety and response campaign to help educate, train, and equip first responders for handling railroad hazmat incidents in local communities.

On Mother’s Day, May 14th, 2023, the train and locomotives arrived in Chattanooga after being towed south by manifest 171 which originated in Conway, Pennsylvania. The locomotives and cars were destined for Birmingham, Alabama where they would be used the next day for emergency management training.

Since time was of the essence, the hazmat safety train was cut away after 171 arrived at DeButts Classification Yard so that it could run as a separate train to Birmingham that afternoon. It would operate as train 098 with the crew going on duty at 1345 Eastern time. This was a historic move in that it was the first time that both SD60E no. 9-1-1 and GP38-2 no. 5642 pulled the train together.