Current:Home > MarketsNorfolk Southern investing in automated inspection systems on its railroad to improve safety-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Norfolk Southern investing in automated inspection systems on its railroad to improve safety
View Date:2025-01-11 11:35:47
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — To help quickly spot safety defects on moving trains, Norfolk Southern said Thursday it has installed the first of more than a dozen automated inspection portals on its tracks in Ohio — not far from where one of its trains careened off the tracks in February and spilled hazardous chemicals that caught fire.
The new portals, equipped with high-speed cameras, will take hundreds of pictures of every passing locomotive and rail car. The pictures are analyzed by artificial intelligence software the railroad developed.
The first of these new portals was recently installed on busy tracks in Leetonia, Ohio, less than 15 miles (24 kilometers) from where that train derailed in East Palestine in February.
Other major railroads have invested in similar inspection technology as they look for ways to supplement — and sometimes try to replace where regulators allow it — the human inspections that the industry has long relied on to keep its trains safe. Rail unions have argued that the new technology shouldn’t replace inspections by well-trained carmen.
University of Delaware professor Allan Zarembski, who leads the Railroad Engineering and Safety Program there, said it’s significant that Norfolk Southern is investing in so many of the portals. By contrast, CSX just announced earlier this year that it had opened a third such inspection portal.
David Clarke, the former director of the University of Tennessee’s Center for Transportation Research, said this technology can likely help spot defects that develop while a train is moving better than an worker stationed near the tracks can.
“It’s much harder for a person to inspect a moving car than a stationary one,” Clarke said. “The proposed system can ‘see’ the entirety of the passing vehicle and, through image processing, is probably able to find conditions not obvious to the human viewer along the track.”
Norfolk Southern said it expects to have at least a dozen of them installed across its 22-state network in the East by the end of 2024. The Atlanta-based railroad didn’t say how much it is investing in the technology it worked with Georgia Tech to develop.
“We’re going to get 700 images per rail car -- terabytes of data -- at 60 miles an hour, processed instantaneously and sent to people who can take action on those alerts in real time,” said John Fleps, the railroad’s vice president of safety.
A different kind of defect detector triggered an alarm about an overheating bearing just before the East Palestine derailment, but there wasn’t enough time for the crew to stop the train.
That crash put the spotlight on railroad safety nationwide and prompted calls for reforms. Since then, safety has dominated CEO Alan Shaw’s time.
veryGood! (23)
Related
- CRYPTIFII Introduce
- Ukraine says Russian missiles hit another apartment building and likely trapped people under rubble
- Police search for driver who intentionally hit 6 migrant workers; injuries aren’t life-threatening
- Busy Minneapolis interstate reopens after investigation into state trooper’s use of force
- Young Black and Latino men say they chose Trump because of the economy and jobs. Here’s how and why
- US needs win to ensure Americans avoid elimination in group play for first time in Women’s World Cup
- Blake Lively Cheekily Clarifies Her Trainer Is Not the Father of Her and Ryan Reynolds’ 4 Kids
- Suicide bomber at political rally in northwest Pakistan kills at least 44 people, wounds nearly 200
- Martha Stewart playfully pushes Drew Barrymore away in touchy interview
- Erykah Badu flirts with crush John Boyega onstage during surprise meeting: Watch
Ranking
- 2 dead in explosion at Kentucky factory that also damaged surrounding neighborhood
- 'So horrendous': At least 30 dead dogs found at animal rescue that allegedly hoarded animals
- As the pope heads to Portugal, he is laying the groundwork for the church’s future and his legacy
- Georgia resident dies from rare brain-eating amoeba, likely infected while swimming in a lake or pond
- Kalen DeBoer, Jalen Milroe save Alabama football season, as LSU's Brian Kelly goes splat
- Gas prices up: Sticker shock hits pump as heat wave, oil prices push cost to 8-month high
- NASA reports unplanned 'communications pause' with historic Voyager 2 probe carrying 'golden record'
- The economy's long, hot, and uncertain summer — CBS News poll
Recommendation
-
Infowars auction could determine whether Alex Jones is kicked off its platforms
-
What's the most popular city to move to in the US? Chances are, it's in Florida
-
Author Iyanla Vanzant Mourns Death of Youngest Daughter
-
Cycling Star Magnus White Dead at 17 After Being Struck By Car During Bike Ride
-
Bill on school bathroom use by transgender students clears Ohio Legislature, heads to governor
-
8-year-old survives cougar attack at Olympic National Park; animal stops when mother screams
-
17-year-old American cyclist killed while training for mountain bike world championships
-
RFK Jr. says he’s not anti-vaccine. His record shows the opposite. It’s one of many inconsistencies