(The Brownsville Herald posted the following article by Alison Beshur on its website on April 24.)
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — For the first time ever, a convoy of about 100 railroad cars slipped out of the Port of Brownsville s shipyard and rumbled down a new line of tracks. The rail lines will permanently replace routes through Brownsville s downtown streets as early as next month.
“Last night (Tuesday) we made history,” said Port of Brownsville Director Raul Besteiro. “I was hired to do the railroad relocation. It happened. It was the first time we ve run a train through those tracks.”
Because of an unexpected derailment of less than 10 grain cars Tuesday on the Brownsville Rio Grande International Railroad (BRG) tracks near Palm Boulevard, lines laid as part of the port s relocation project were used to ship steel and move out empty cars.
The convoy successfully connected with Union Pacific Railroad lines at the BRG switchyard in Olmito and continued to its destination.
“It went smoothly,” said Carlos Colorado, manager of train operations for Union Pacific Railroad.
If the railcars had been delayed until lines were repaired, double shipments on Wednesday would have been required.
“Customers were happy because it didn t cause anybody a stoppage in the product,” Besteiro said.
Completion of the project represents decades of efforts and about $40 million in federal funds. But the old tracks will continue to be used until an official ceremony dedicates the new tracks next month.
“We re not running trains every day (down the new tracks),” Besteiro said. “It was kind of an emergency situation. It wasn t something we planned.”
When the relocation project becomes fully operational, about 64 railroad crossings in Brownsville will be removed, including rails that run in front of the county and federal courthouses.
BRG officials declined to comment on the exact cause of Tuesday s derailment. The stalled rail cars did not overturn or block traffic. No one was injured and the track was repaired Wednesday, Besteiro said.