(The following article by Paul Bradley was posted on the Richmond Times-Dispatch website on January 7.)
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Full commuter railroad service was restored yesterday along a heavily used track following the derailment of a Virginia Railway Express train north of Quantico.
Thursday morning’s derailment halted freight and passenger service in both directions and caused minor injuries to three passengers and a conductor.
One track was reopened Thursday night, and repairs to a switch were finished yesterday morning. Delays through the area where the train derailed were reported to be minimal during the morning rush hour.
VRE spokeswoman Wendy Lemieux said commuter trains were running about 10 minutes behind schedule. On the section of repaired tracks, the speed limit was lowered to 10 mph from 45 mph.
Some midday Amtrak trains were reported to be delayed as crews continued repairs and testing on the damaged portion of track.
Meanwhile, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board were trying to determine what caused the partial derailment. A locomotive and three double-decker cars left the track but remained upright. The remaining three cars stayed on the track.
There were 520 passengers aboard the train, which was en route from Fredericksburg to Washington. The train derailed just before 7 a.m. about 35 miles south of Washington, just north of the Quantico Creek bridge.
Crews from freight operator CSX, which owns the tracks, worked throughout the night Thursday to make repairs in time for the morning commute, according to spokesman Bob Sullivan.
The track is heavily used. On a normal day, 13 VRE trains use it, along with 18 Amtrak trains and about 30 freight trains, officials said.