The operators of the Norfolk Southern train involved in a toxic derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month received a “critical audible alarm message instructing the crew to slow and stop the train to inspect a hot axle,” according to a newly released National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report Thursday.
The preliminary report said after hearing the warning from the hot bearing detector on Train 32N, the train’s engineer “increased the dynamic brake application to further slow and stop the train.”
“The function of the HBD is to detect overheated bearings and provide audible real-time warnings to train crews,” the report said. “Train 32N passed three HBD systems on its trip before the derailment,” adding that at the third system, it recorded “the suspect bearing’s temperature at 253°F above ambient.” Read more…
