WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) - The National

Transportation Safety Board opened a meeting Tuesday to

determine the probable cause of a February 2023 Norfolk Southern ( NSC )

train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio and is making

sweeping recommendations to boost rail safety.

The derailment forced residents to temporarily abandon their

homes after the train caught fire and released over a million

gallons of hazardous materials and pollutants near the state's

border with Pennsylvania. Last month, Norfolk Southern ( NSC ) agreed to

pay a $15 million civil penalty and $57.1 million in past

government cleanup costs, as well as millions in future costs to

resolve a U.S. government lawsuit.

NTSB staff want the Federal Railroad Administration to

set new safety regulations for inspections and maintenance of

heat bearing detectors, also called box detectors or wayside

detectors. The devices identify potential train safety issues by

measuring temperature as they pass.

Board staff also wants USDOT to establish a replacement

schedule to stop the use of tank cars like some in the Ohio

derailment and replace them with newer, safer tank cars. The

NTSB staff also wants the state of Ohio to improve volunteer

firefighter training standards and to speed transmittal of

information to emergency responders about hazardous materials.

Under a proposed consent decree estimated to be worth

more than $310 million, the railroad also agreed to significant

safety improvements and training, which includes installing

additional devices to detect overheated wheel bearings early

enough to prevent derailments like the Ohio derailment. Norfolk

Southern ( NSC ) says under the agreement it will spend $244 million on

safety initiatives through 2025.

The incident sparked public outrage and calls for

railroad safety reforms in Congress but legislation has stalled.

Some lawmakers had said they wanted to wait for NTSB's report

before acting on safety changes.

Norfolk Southern ( NSC ), which did not admit wrongdoing, said last

month the deal means the company will face no criminal penalties

and the settlement is included in the around $1.7 billion in

related charges to date for the incident. It added the

settlement will not require it to take additional charges.

In April, Norfolk Southern ( NSC ) agreed to pay $600 million to

settle a class action lawsuit over the derailment. The

settlement covers personal injury claims from residents and

businesses in the city and impacted surrounding communities.