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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Adam Lowenstein

‘Crafting an illusion’: US rail firms’ multimillion-dollar PR push

The company behind the Ohio train derailment was on a years-long, multimillion-dollar campaign to influence federal regulators.
The company behind the Ohio train derailment was on a years-long, multimillion-dollar campaign to influence federal regulators. Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock

Six children, smiling and laughing, sit at a table with lunch boxes open in front of them. “Hey guys! My dad can stop a train with his finger,” one brags. “My mom can see into the future,” another says, holding up her hands as binoculars. “My mom? She speaks train,” a third claims.

Just then, her mom walks into the room. Another child asks if it’s true that she can talk to trains. “You betcha,” she says with a wink, as she stands in front of a sky-blue sign emblazoned with the logo of the Norfolk Southern Corporation.

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