footage, which could have shed light on the cause of the derailment, were automatically deleted after the train went “immediately back in service following the accident.”

They just dropped that nugget right at the end.

So this letter is just saying "Norfolk Southern is voluntarily cleaning up this mess but if they stopped for some reason, like if they were found not liable (somehow???), then they’d need federal aid.

How the fuck would they be found not liable, unless some dumbass politicians in Ohio figure out a way to help their train company donors out. “we’ll say you aren’t responsible so the taxpayers can pay for it!!”