A train hauling hazardous materials derailed on Thursday in the U.S. Midwest state of Michigan, nearly two weeks after a Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio left a mangled and charred mass of boxcars that had been carrying various hazardous chemicals.

The Ohio train derailment on February 3, which created an environmental disaster, is continuing to raise questions and fuel public distrust of U.S. authorities.

From 1990 up to 2021, there have been 54,539 accidents in which a train derailed, an average of 1,704 derailments per year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, a branch of the Department of Transportation.

About 4.5 million tonnes of toxic chemicals are transported by rail each year, with an average of 12,000 rail cars shipping the materials through cities and towns each day, it said.

More than a dozen trains have derailed in the U.S. since this year began, the Newsweek reported on February 13.

The latest Michigan train derailment was just one of the four accidents in about two weeks in the United States.

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February 16 – Freight train derails in Michigan

Video recorded of the Thursday derailment in Michigan showed that more than a half-dozen cars derailed, some of them left sideways across the tracks.

Police said there were no reported injuries and no evidence that hazardous materials were exposed in the new Norfolk Southern train derailment. Several roads were temporarily closed. 

February 13 – One killed after 18-wheeler truck hits train in Texas

An 18-wheeler slammed into a train on February 13, killing the truck driver and causing derailment near Splendora, south-central U.S. state of Texas, authorities said.

More than a dozen train cars derailed, according to the fire department. The local police said the 18-wheeler was dragged half a mile down the tracks and totally destroyed. 

On the same day, a train was derailed in Enoree, South Carolina, and no injures were reported.

February 3 – Concern grows over U.S. handling of toxic chemicals after Ohio train derailment

In an update on Tuesday, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board wrote that 38 rail cars derailed, and a fire ensued, damaging an additional 12 cars in the Ohio train derailment. A total of 20 hazardous material cars were part of the train, 11 of which derailed.

Four class action negligence lawsuits have been filed by residents and business owners who say they were impacted by the chemical train derailment in East Palestine.

"Ineffective oversight and a largely self-monitoring industry that has cut the nation's rail workforce to the bone in recent years as it puts record profits over safety," Ron Kaminkow, an Amtrak locomotive engineer and former Norfolk Southern freight engineer, was quoted by The Guardian as saying on February 11.

U.S. rail companies laid off more than 20,000 rail workers between 2018 and 2019, representing the biggest layoffs in rail since the Great Recession. The nation's rail force has since dipped below 200,000, the lowest level ever, and down from 1 million at its peak, the British newspaper said.

(With input from agencies)