(The following article by Jim Hannah was posted on the Cincinnati Enquirer website on January 6.)
ELLISTON, Ky. — A train tunnel collapse caused a derailment early Wednesday in rural Grant County, the sheriff’s department reported.
“While we don’t have all the facts yet, it appears debris from a partial collapse caused the derailment,” Meg Scheu, a spokeswoman for Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX Transportation, said Wednesday evening.
The train entered Eagle Tunnel at 3:15 a.m. when the lead engine collided with something that caused its two engines and 10 of the 41 railcars to derail, Scheu said.
The train was carrying automobiles, sheriff’s deputies said. It originated in Toledo, stopped in Cincinnati and was destined for Louisville.
The collapse and resulting derailment trapped two employees on the train for a short time. Their names were not available Wednesday, but deputies said the employees had been treated at an area hospital for minor injuries and released.
Workers were unable to upright the train cars as of Wednesday evening.
“We want to make sure the tunnel is structurally sound before we move in with heavy equipment,” Scheu said.
Scheu didn’t know when the tunnel was dug, but she said it was part of the original Louisville & Nashville Railroad, which dates to the 19th century. She said the tunnel had been inspected by the railroad on Tuesday, and she didn’t know what caused the collapse.
The tunnel runs under Eagle Tunnel Road. As the main CSX line between Cincinnati and Louisville, 24 to 30 trains travel the tunnel daily.
Scheu said the results of an internal investigation on the derailment probably wouldn’t be completed for two or three days. Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates rail accidents, couldn’t be reached Wednesday for comment.