Report: CSX to beef up safety resources

CSX Corp. will put more resources into safety, company executives said at the annual shareholders meeting held late last week in Jacksonville, Florida.

President and Chief Executive Officer James Foote told shareholders that CSX soon will announce a new chief safety officer and is bringing in an outside consulting firm to help with safety issues, according to a report by WJCT News.

"Because of the incidents earlier this year, I thought we needed additional help," he said. After the meeting, Foote said the incidents included the deaths of two Amtrak employees in a collision with a CSX train in South Carolina in February, according to WJCT.

CSX reported 1.11 personal injuries per 200,000 man-hours in first-quarter 2018, which put the Class I in third place among other North American Class Is, Foote said during the meeting. However, that index rose from 0.97 in first-quarter 2017, he said.

"That is unacceptable and we will get better," said Foote.

Meanwhile, a day after the annual meeting, a CSX train derailed in Alexandria, Virginia. Some of the derailed cars damaged part of an overpass used by the train. No one was injured and none of the cars were carrying hazardous materials, according to news media reports.

CSX is cooperating with local, state and National Transportation Safety Board officials who are investigating the incident, a CSX spokeswoman said. On May 20, CSX crews were given permission to begin removing the derailed cars and cleaning up debris, a CSX spokeswoman said in an email.