LOWER SAUCON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Officials are investigating after a train operated by the same company in the center of last year’s derailment in East Palestine, went off the tracks in the Lehigh Valley Saturday morning.
First responders arrived at the scene of the incident in Lower Saucon Township, east of the village of Steel City, around 7:15 a.m. The wreck forced several train cars, including a couple of tanker cars, off the tracks, with some in the Lehigh River.
Norfolk Southern, which operates the train, says diesel fuel did spill into the river. Despite the spill, officials say there is no hazardous material threat to the community. Floating barriers were deployed to contain the spills, which the company says will be cleaned. Another derailed car spilled plastic pellets on the ground.
No injuries were reported. Authorities have asked people to stay out of the area as they investigate and clear the scene. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and other state agencies are on site.
Norfolk Southern was at the center of a similar incident in Feb. 2023, when a train it operated derailed in East Palestine, Ohio in Feb. 2023. That derailment caused a chemical spill.