Derailment costs grow for Norfolk Southern but railroad's trains moving more smoothly

abcnews.go.com:

Norfolk Southern's costs related to the East Palestine derailment have grown to reach $966 million

OMAHA, Neb. — Norfolk Southern's costs related to the East Palestine derailment have grown to reach nearly $1 billion, but the railroad's service is improving and its insurance companies have started to pay their share of the cost of the crash in eastern Ohio early this year.

The Atlanta-based railroad on Wednesday reported third-quarter profit of $478 million, or $2.10 per share, half of last year's $958 million, or $4.10 per share. The results were hurt by the derailment costs, a drop in its fuel surcharge revenue and flat volume.

Without the derailment costs, the railroad said it would have made $601 million, or $2.65 per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research expected earnings per share of $2.64, on average.

While the cleanup from the February derailment continues, Norfolk Southern collected its first $25 million payment from its insurers. So far the railroad says costs from the accident amount to $966 million but will grow over time as the cleanup continues and it agrees to more settlements and fines. Norfolk Southern expects its insurance companies to eventually cover most of the cost of the derailment that forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes and left residents with worries about possible long-term health effects.

But the average speed of Norfolk Southern's trains increased during the quarter to 20.5 mph. That's up from than last year's 19.1 mph average and this year's low point of 18.7 mph in the second quarter when one of its main tracks was still closed because of the derailment for most of the period. The average amount of time the railroad's trains spend inside its railyards also decreased