Lost opportunity and revenue reflects the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine Ohio

What happened to the immediate crisis response from Norfolk Southern railway when one of its trains derailed in East Palestine Ohio on February 3 spewing toxic substances into the air and surrounding ground water? The significance of the event created a national news story within a day and has captured the attention of the nation for several weeks.

Norfolk Southern could have responded immediately, as it should. The response from any crisis expert would have been to follow the “C’s” of crisis communications. That’s care, compassion, clarity and communication to name a few. But clearly the company was not prepared for the backlash from citizens, politicians, environmental organizations and now the tort lawyers who have filed class action lawsuits.

What’s really at stake is the corporate and safety reputation of Norfolk Southern as well as it’s public and legal license to operate as one of America’s major rail carriers.

Not since BP CEO Tony Hayward during the Deep Water Horizon gulf oil leak exclaimed “I just want my life back” have we seen a worse response from a company dealing with a disaster of major proportions.

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw spoke out to CNN on February 21 defending his company’s response, saying ““We’re going to be here today, we’re going to be here tomorrow, we’re going to be here a year from now and we’re going to be here five years from now.”

It was a statement made two weeks too late. Where was the company in the weeks, months and years leading up to this serious incident? A proactive approach to community relations and public affairs could have put citizens and local politicians on the side of Norfolk Southern. If this relationship was solid prior to the incident the company would not have cancelled its participation in a scheduled town hall on Wednesday, Feb. 15.

Not showing up to a town hall and “hiding” behind fear was a poor response. The company could have requested a local law enforcement presence if they were fearful of the community and residents. Instead, they ran back to headquarters to put together another artfully crafted statement reviewed by leadership at all levels of the company as well as the treasure trove of lawyers now working to defend the company.

Just like BP and Deep Water Horizon, Norfolk Southern lost control of the narrative when the government got involved. The government response for the most part was ineffective and in some cases made a bigger problem of the situation.

Norfolk Southern is going to be paying fines, fees, remediation and more over the next several years. What the company should learn from this incident is that they need an improved crisis communication plan with trained spokespeople across the nation to immediately address the immediate and prevent a bad story from becoming worse.

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