(The following report appeared on the Chicago Tribune website on January 26.)
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS — A broken rail caused a freight train to derail and spill hazardous cargo near Tamaroa in southern Illinois two years ago, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled Tuesday.
Twenty-two cars of the 108-car Canadian National Railway train jumped the tracks on Feb. 9, 2003, prompting an evacuation involving 850 residents in a 3-mile area and causing almost $2 million in damage and cleanup costs, the safety board said.
Inappropriate welds used on a joint in the rail made the structure susceptible to fatigue and cracking, the board said. The train, traveling from Memphis to Chicago, ignited after derailing, and its tank cars spilled vinyl chloride, methanol, formaldehyde and acids. There were no deaths or injuries.
“Serious accidents like this point up the need for rigorous maintenance standards to ensure the safety of tracks over which hazardous materials are carried,” NTSB Chairwoman Ellen Engleman Connors said at a hearing in Washington. “It is an area that demands close attention by both the industry and government.”