(The St. Louis Post-Dispatch posted the following article by Ken Leiser on its website on July 2.)
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Rail repairs on the western approach to the MacArthur Bridge closed the span to train traffic for much of today and forced St. Louis police to close a portion of 7th Street near downtown before tonight’s Cardinals-Giants game.
No one was injured when 29 cars of the Union Pacific coal train jumped the track at 11:20 p.m. Tuesday, said Gerald Gates, president of the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, which is in charge of operations at the bridge.
The accident remains under investigation.
Freight trains were being rerouted over the Merchants Bridge to the north. Some other trains were being held back outside of the St. Louis area, Gates said.
“We’re trying to figure out exactly what did happen,” he said. “Our primary focus is to put enough resources together (to repair the track) and maintain operations through this gateway.”
The 78-car coal train was en route from Colorado to East St. Louis and was traveling 17 mph at the time it derailed, said Union Pacific Railroad spokesman Mark Davis.
Gates said the bridge was not damaged. Repair crews worked through the night to begin replacing 500 to 700 feet of damaged track and ties. Davis said 19 of the coal cars were going to be removed by Wednesday and the remaining 10 by today.
The western approach to the MacArthur Bridge has two tracks. Gates said it would take two to three days to fix the damaged track, but some trains will be able to use the second track when repair crews are not working.
St. Louis is considered the third-busiest Midwestern rail gateway and the MacArthur Bridge handles about 1 million rail cars each year.
None of the coal cars on the eastbound train tipped over following the derailment and no coal spilled. A short stretch of 7th Street beneath the rail bridge was closed while cranes worked above. It was expected to be closed through the conclusion of tonight’s game.
Jim Suelmann, director of the St. Louis Streets Department, said 7th Street is one of the ways motorists use after leaving Busch Stadium parking lots and the road closure could create “a mess” following today’s 6:05 p.m. ballgame.