TUCSON, Ariz. — A defective rail is being blamed for the derailment of 16 cars and two locomotives Tuesday three miles south of Tubac, the Arizona Daily Star reported.
No one was injured in the 7:45 a.m. derailment of the Union Pacific Railroad train, which shut down the tracks. Damage was estimated at $400,000.
Crews worked to remove the derailed cars and cleaned up a diesel-fuel spill of about 1,500 gallons, said Royce Hardin, a Union Pacific superintendent.
Fifteen of the derailed cars were carrying auto parts that were headed to Hermosillo, Sonora, Hardin said. The freight was not damaged.
Work crews will begin repairing 1,600 feet of damaged track on Thursday and the line, which connects Tucson to Mexico at Nogales, is expected to reopen by Friday morning, Hardin said.
Union Pacific runs a train from Nogales to Tucson and back daily, Hardin said. The railroad connects at the U.S.-Mexican border to Ferromex, a privately owned rail line in Mexico.
The line was already scheduled to be closed today and the only train traffic expected to be affected by Thursday’s closure is the daily run of the two-leg trip between Nogales and Tucson, Hardin said.
Union Pacific investigators found that an internal defect caused a rail to break, Hardin said. He said the rail was fatigued and the defect could not be detected during a visual inspection Saturday.
“We do routine inspections every three days and sometimes daily,” Hardin said.
Ten firefighters from the Tubac Fire District contained the diesel spill, remaining at the site until Union Pacific crews began the cleanup, Capt. Mike Burns said.