​​​Figure. Derailed gondola cars (left) and a wheelset with a burned-off bearing (right). (Sources: NS (left); Federal Railroad

​​​Figure. Derailed gondola cars (left) and a wheelset with a burned-off bearing (right).

(Sources: NS (left); Federal Railroad Administration (right).)

Norfolk Southern Railway Derailment

What Happened

​On July 6, 2023, about 7:42 p.m. local time, eastbound Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) unit coal train 814V404 derailed 19 loaded gondola cars on a single main line track of the NS New River Division’s Whitethorne District at milepost 263.7 near Elliston, Virginia. The derailed equipment remained upright and did not separate from other railcars in the train. There were no injuries, fatalities, fires, or release of coal. NS estimated damages to equipment and track infrastructure to be $288,360. Visibility conditions at the time of the derailment were daylight and clear, and the temperature was 82°F with no precipitation. 

What We Found

​​We found that the R1 bearing burned off the journal on railcar CR 507499 resulting in the derailment of train 814V404.

The investigation further identified the following issues with crew operating performance and the NS wayside detector help desk procedures. 

  • The crew did not set out the railcar at the nearest location after determining they had an overheated wheel bearing, which increased the risk of the train being affected by a failed wheel bearing.
  • The crew was instructed to proceed at track speed, which increased the potential of catastrophic damage to the train if the overheating wheel bearing failed.
  • The absence of federal or railroad requirements to restrict the speed of a train with an overheated wheel bearing, introduced the opportunity for more damage to the train.

Postaccident Actions 

On July 7, 2023, NS issued a new operations bulletin to provide additional clarification and requirements for responding to hot bearing and dragging equipment detectors.

The postaccident actions implemented by NS address the issues identified in this investigation. In addition to these measures, NTSB Board investigation RRD23MR005 (East Palestine, Ohio) focused on needed regulatory measures concerning wayside detectors and wheel bearing performance; therefore no additional recommendations are warranted.

While a final report for this investigation was not developed, the information from items in the investigation docket were used to support safety issues identified in the East Palestine investigation and may be used in future investigations, reports, or other mission-related activities.

We produced an investigation close-out memorandum, which can be found in our docket.     ​

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