Coal Train Derails Into Anacostia River
posted 11:47 pm Fri November 09, 2007 - Washington
"All of the sudden, I heard this loud noise," said Alice Spann, who witnessed the derailment. "I looked again and the train was going up in the air, then the track went up the in air real slow, then the rails went up in the air like they were separating form the track, never seen anything like that. The trains were separating and I saw black dust with coals going into the water, the trains going over. The train split in half." Ten cars of the 89-car train jumped the tracks, with seven cars full of coal plunging into the Anacostia River. Some oil and hydraulic fluid from the rail cars also spilled into the water, but fire spokesman Alan Etter said the spill has been contained.
"The environmental impact, we're hoping, is going to be kept to a minimum," said Etter. The Federal Railroad Administration said the derailment happened during what is called a "shoving move." There was a section of cars being moved around near the Benning rail yard.
The Federal Rail Administration is investigating the cause.
The train and the bridge are owned by CSX Transportation. Spokesman Bob Sullivan said the bridge had not been used in about a year.The train was being moved across the bridge to an indoor rail yard in southeast Washington when the cars jumped the tracks. CSX is sending contract workers to clean up the spilled coal and chemicals and to pull the remaining cars off the bridge and out of the water.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation also dispatached agents as a precaution. A spokesperson said they do not believe there is a hazmat threat or that the crash is terrorism related.
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Latest Comment on Coal Train Derails Into Anacostia River
J-B
3:05 am on 11/10/07
The coal is not great for the river and its a loss of energy but we can thank God it was not something like sulfuric acid.
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