(The Belleville News-Democrat posted the following article by Beth Hundsdorfer on its website on February 11.)
BELLEVILLE, Ill. — A trio of train derailments within a 30-mile radius in a four-day span is a mere coincidence, railroad officials said.
In the latest case, an Amtrak train derailed in Pinckneyville on Monday. Trains also derailed in Sparta on Friday and Tamaroa on Sunday. No injuries were reported.
“I think that it’s a coincidence. There’s no reason to believe that there was any sabotage or vandalism that led to the derailment of these trains, but the investigation is just beginning,” said Canadian National Railway Co. spokesman Jack Burke.
Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Warren Flatau said, “I think it’s relatively unusual given the nature of the area. However, I wouldn’t want to read too much into it. I would be very uncomfortable jumping to any conclusions.”
A cause for each derailment is still under investigation, Flatau said.
The first derailment occurred about 6:20 a.m. Friday in Sparta. A Union Pacific freight train composed of 111 cars carrying coal from Sparta to northwest Indiana had the last three cars leave the track in Sparta, damaging 1,000 feet of track. The track will remain closed until 6 p.m. today, said Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davies.
The second derailment occurred 9 a.m. Sunday in Tamaroa. A Illinois Central-Canadian Naional freight train left the tracks, spilling hazardous chemicals and forcing the evacuation of about 1,000 residents.
At 3:35 a.m. Monday, the last car on an Amtrak train, a mail car, derailed in Pinckneyville. The train was en route to New Orleans from Chicago, carrying 143 passengers, said Amtrak spokesman Dan Stessel. Amtrak officials separated the mail car and a baggage car and moved the seven passenger cars to Memphis, Stessel said.
The Amtrak train was diverted to Pinckneyville because of the Tamaroa derailment, Stessel said.
The sites of the three derailments are within a 30-mile radius — two in Perry County and one in Randolph County. Union Pacific owns and maintains the tracks where the Sparta derailment occurred, whereas the tracks in Tamaroa and Pinckneyville are owned by Canadian National.
National Transportation Safety Board personnel were at the Tamaroa site to conduct an investigation into the cause of the derailment there, said spokesman Paul Schlamm. The National Transportation Safety Board usually investigates plane crashes, but occasionally investigates railway accidents when there are serious safety ramifications, Schlamm said.
During its investigation, the safety board will review information stored in the train’s data recorder, or black box, and conduct metallurgy tests on wheels and tracks to determine whether there are defects, Schlamm said, adding there are more than 50 different subcategories for reasons why a train would derail.
When asked how long an investigation may take, Schlamm said, “It’ll take months, that’s for sure.”
The Federal Railroad Administration will investigate the derailments in Pinckneyville and Sparta.
Last year, one derailment occurred in Perry County and none occurred in Randolph County.