(The Times-Dispatch posted the following article by Chip Jones on its website on February 3.)
RICHMOND, Va. — The derailment of a CSX Corp. freight train north of Emporia early yesterday delayed Amtrak passenger service through Richmond, rail officials said.
CSX spokesman David Hall said a single tanker car carrying molten sulfur left the tracks at 1:55 a.m., tearing up a short section of rail.
The tanker stayed upright, and no leaks occurred, Hall said. No one was injured.
The cause of the accident was unknown.
CSX, based in Jacksonville, Fla., said the train was put back on track by 7 a.m. and that all trains returned to normal service by 7:45 a.m.
The derailment forced Amtrak to stop a train in Richmond, unload the passengers and take them by bus to Rocky Mount, N.C.
In Rocky Mount, the passengers boarded a train for Miami, Amtrak spokesman Dan Stessel said.
Reversed the process
A northbound passenger train also stopped in Rocky Mount, where Amtrak reversed the process – busing passengers to Richmond.
The incident also held up a northbound Amtrak auto train bound for Lorton.
Yesterday’s derailment is at least the third incident in less than two months that affected rail passengers in Richmond.
On Dec. 18, a 19-car derailment of a CSX train near Alexandria halted most passenger train service in Virginia and delayed the start of passenger service at the reopened Main Street Station in downtown Richmond.
On Jan. 23, CSX and Amtrak halted trains through Charleston, S.C., after three cars filled with munitions on a CSX train derailed. A ripple effect delayed Amtrak trains bound for Virginia.
CSX spokesman Robert Sullivan said there was no connection among the three derailments.
Broken wheel on one car
The December accident was caused by a broken wheel on one of the cars, he said, while the Charleston derailment is under federal investigation.
“We are moving a tremendous amount of traffic,” with about 650 freight trains originating each day, Sullivan said. “Our record is a very, very good one.”
Warren Flatau, spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration, said CSX is not subject to any special investigation because of the recent mishaps.
“Certainly with any incident, we wish it hadn’t occurred, but this hasn’t triggered any additional audit,” he said.
Between 2000 and 2001, CSX spent a year operating under a special safety-compliance agreement because of poor track conditions found by federal rail inspectors.
The special oversight ended after the railroad agency said CSX had made necessary improvements in track maintenance and safety procedures.