Cleanup in East Palestine costing Norfolk Southern millions and millions in losses

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) -Norfolk Southern (NS) CEO Alan Shaw confirmed to investors this week, the cleanup process in East Palestine from the February train derailment has cost the company $387 million in first quarter losses.

In comparison, first quarter earnings in 2022 for the railroad giant were $703 million compared to $466 million this year.

If NS had not sustained those losses, it’s expected its profit for the first quarter would have topped $1.1 billion.

In a phone call to investors Shaw made his usual round of statements that he has been making to lawmakers in Washington D.C. and Ohio.

“We are a safe railroad,” Shaw told analysts. “We strive to do better. We are going to learn from this accident to become an even safer company.”

Shaw has pledged $30.9 million so far to try and make things right for the residents of East Palestine, but it’s unclear if the rest of the losses are because of work being done there or perhaps the fact that trains must move slower through the town because of continued work.

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