Norfolk Southern travels seven towns in Hunterdon; county officials review derailment plan

Not many Hunterdon County residents know the name of the railroad that enters the county near Bloomsbury and exits at Readington's border with Branchburg.

It's Norfolk Southern, the same railroad company that was involved in a Feb. 3 derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals in eastern Ohio, igniting a fire that covered the town of East Palestine in smoke.

The Norfolk Southern Line in Hunterdon County is 20 miles long and crosses seven municipalities, including Bloomsbury, Bethlehem, Union, Franklin, Clinton, Readington and Raritan. The tracks go through a tunnel in Jugtown Mountain and under routes 31 and 202 near the South Branch of the Raritan River.

Considering the derailment in Ohio, the county's Office of Emergency Management recently met with local OEMs and officials to review the existing plan of how to respond to a derailment.

“The county’s OEM team has long been prepared and has a response plan in place for the four rail lines operating in the county," said Brayden Fahey, the county's director of the Department of Public Safety and OEM Coordinator. "Additionally, a regional response plan and coordination strategy was established in 2017 for Hunterdon, Warren, Sussex and Somerset counties.”

The Norfolk Southern Line in Hunterdon County is 20 miles long and crosses seven municipalities.
The Norfolk Southern Line in Hunterdon County is 20 miles long and crosses seven municipalities.

The Board of Commissioners directed that the response plan be reviewed with the seven municipalities.

“The forum was extremely well attended by local officials and provided an opportunity for mission essential personnel to understand key elements of the response plan, including the role and responsibilities of responding agencies," County Commissioner John Lanza reported at the commissioners’ March 21 meeting.

The forum reviewed the incident management organization to coordinate the response; how information would be conveyed to the public; decision-making about shelter-in-place or evacuation measures and specifics on the rail system in each municipality.

Also see:Hunterdon Medical Center unveils Emergency Department expansion

"The number one takeaway from the session should be that there is a well-vetted emergency response plan in place should a train derailment ever happen here," Lanza said.

The Lehigh Line is the major regional rail line between the Lehigh Valley and Newark metropolitan areas. The railroad transports millions of tons of goods annually, including some hazardous materials.

Participating in the forum from the seven municipalities were police chiefs, representatives of fire companies and rescue squads, governing officials and New Jersey State Police personnel affiliated with the New Jersey’s Office of Emergency Management.

“All the attendees were most appreciative of this timely session," said Franklin Mayor Phil Koury. "It is reassuring to know that the county’s OEM group has plans in place for this type of significant incident."

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Norfolk Southern: NJ officials review train derailment emergency plan