LOWER SAUCON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — National Transportation Safety Board investigators have released control of the site of Saturday’s collision and derailment involving three trains to Norfolk Southern for its crews and contractors to address cleanup, the Allentown Morning Call reports.
The NTSB turned the site over to NS late this afternoon [Sunday, March 3], but its investigators will remain on the scene for several more days, the newspaper reports, conducting interviews and gathering other information. Investigators have also begun reviewing data from onboard event recorders and wayside signals, which has been sent to NTSB headquarters in Washington for further analysis. The agency said this would be its last update until release of its preliminary report, which could take two to three weeks.
The incident occurred Saturday morning about 7:15 a.m., and involved an eastbound train striking a stopped train; a westbound train then struck derailed cars from the initial collision. No injuries were reported, but two locomotives went down an embankment and partially entered the Lehigh River, with diesel fuel from the locomotives and plastic pellets from one car entering the river [see “Three-train accident in Pennsylvania …,” Trains News Wire, March 2, 2024]. Booms were placed in the river by NS contractor Lewis Environmental to contain the spills, the Lehigh Valley News reports; an NS spokesman told the newspaper in an email that the booms would remain in place until any residual sheen had been removed.
