Alan Shaw's House

Alan Shaw is President of Norfolk Southern Railway.

On February 3, 2023, a freight train carrying vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether derailed along the Norfolk Southern Railway in East Palestine, Ohio, United States. Emergency crews conducted a controlled burn of the spill at the request of state officials, which released hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the air. On February 8, affected businesses and residents filed three class action lawsuits against the company.

In 2017, after donating more than $6M to GOP campaigns, Norfolk Southern, along with other rail companies, had successfully lobbied the Trump administration for the repeal of rules requiring electronically controlled pneumatic brakes on trains carrying hazardous materials, which could have reduced the severity of the incident.