“NTSB’s deliberate and methodical approach under these challenging circumstances has been essential to establishing independent, credible findings into the cause of the accident in East Palestine.” says AAR CEO Ian Jefferies.

U.S. railroads have engaged in extensive real-world tests of ECP brakes and found that the failure rate of ECP systems is significant, and the repair time is much too long to make them practical.

When a hazardous substance incident occurs, railroads follow strict regulations and work closely with government agencies and safety experts to protect the health and safety of citizens and the environment, remediate any impacts and carefully return to service.