Train Derailment Temporarily Shuts Down Stretch Of Schuylkill Expressway
By Mark Abrams
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Seven cars on a CSX freight train from Chicago to Philadelphia derailed early Monday morning in the area of the South Street Bridge, prompting a shutdown of a stretch of the Schuylkill Expressway for a couple of hours.
Officials say the accident happened shortly after 12:30 a.m. on a railroad bridge spanning the Schuylkill Expressway.
They say six of the cars on the 101-car train were carrying crude oil and one was carrying sand.
Emergency personnel responding to the scene ordered the Schuylkill Expressway closed from University Avenue to South Street shortly after the derailment occurred.
Hazardous materials teams were immediately dispatched. However, after crews examined the damaged cars, they found nothing leaking and secured the area.
The eastbound lanes of the Schuylkill Expressway re-opened shortly before 2:30 a.m. and the westbound lanes were cleared for traffic about an hour later.
CSX officials were on the scene making arrangements to move the damaged cars and reopen the line.
Monday afternoon CSX released the following statement:
"CSX crews this afternoon prepared to begin removing the seven cars that derailed early today on a railroad bridge in Philadelphia. The safe removal of six of the cars will involve the careful and environmentally responsible transfer of oil to other tank cars or tanker trucks. It also will require the removal of sand carried in one of the cars. These operations should begin this evening and continue until complete in the next 24-48 hours. These plans have been shared with public agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard and Philadelphia Fire Department.
Meanwhile, the investigation continues into the cause of the derailment, which occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. The train was traveling from Chicago to Philadelphia with two locomotives and 101 freight cars. The seven cars at the rear of the train derailed, but no one was injured and no products were released. Philadelphia emergency responders arrived at the scene quickly, and CSX is grateful for their swift response."
There were no injuries to the train crew.
