Transportation Secretary Checks Out Derailment Scene

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks during a news conference Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, near the site of the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (News Talk 1480 WHBC) – Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited the East Palestine derailment site on Thursday.

He acknowledged he should have spoken about the situation sooner, though saying a personal visit early on may not have been appropriate.

Buttigieg says the EPA, NTSB and others have been on the ground there since day one.

He reiterates that Norfolk Southern will pay for the cleanup.

He later told reporters that the national discussion about East Palestine has turned to political rhetoric, when there are real solutions to railroad safety that need to be enacted.