About 50 wagons of the freight train, some of which were loaded with the carcinogenic vinyl chloride and other chemicals, derailed on February 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. Several of the tankers caught fire. To prevent an explosion, local authorities decided to release the vinyl chloride. Now there are fears of a large-scale environmental disaster, which could affect the region’s drinking water supply in particular. US commentators also point to a possible link between the train disaster and the ongoing conflict between US railroad workers’ unions and the Biden administration. The unions have been on strike for months, one of the main reasons being rationalization measures associated with the acronym PSR: Precision Scheduled Railroading. According to railroad workers, PSR results in fewer staff, less maintenance, fewer vacation days, longer trains and questionable business practices, with railroad companies being forced to keep their trains moving as much as possible for profit reasons. Many of the larger US railroads are managed by large hedge funds and financial investors such as Vanguard, JP Morgan and Black Rock, as is the Norfolk Southern Railway, one of the major railroad companies east of the Mississippi River. According to some sources, Norfolk Southern has since been trying to pay affected residents $1000 “inconvenience” fees because they have been exposed to dangerous, toxic carcinogens. BlackRock and Vanguard will try to use it as a waiver of all future claims, they say. The disaster train, traveling from Illinois to the Conway station on February 3, ran over a sensor that detects heat on the train’s wheels and axles and reported that the wheels were on fire. What is now known is that instead of stopping to inspect and repair the damage, the train crew was instructed by the dispatcher to proceed towards Conway, allowing the train to travel 20 miles at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour to East Palestine Station. Meanwhile, the wheels overheated. Videos from surveillance cameras have now surfaced online showing sparks flying from some of the overheated wagon axles. Some of the cars derailed, causing a fire. https://freewestmedia.com/2023/02/19/ohio-disaster-when-hedge-funds-manage-rail-traffic/