A leaked recording of a manager at one of the nation’s largest rail companies, reveals them telling workers to skip inspections and not report cars with the same type of problem blamed for last month’s massive train derailment in Ohio.
The Norfolk Southern derailment and subsequent investigation into its cause have invited increased scrutiny into the rail industry’s safety practices.
The audio, obtained by the Guardian, hears the manager telling a former employee of Union Pacific to stop tagging railcars for broken bearings. The manager says doing so delays other cargo.
A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board into the Norfolk Southern derailment found that a wheel-bearing failure was responsible for the catastrophe.
Hellbound and Down 