SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — A Union Pacific train carrying coal to the cement plant in Davenport derailed at 10 a.m. Wednesday near Buena Vista Road, shutting down the line for about a week, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
“We could hear it,” said Paulette Lima, who lives on Whiskey Hill Road. “It sounded like an accident, so we drove down there.”
Union Pacific spokesman Mike Furtney said nine cars on the 40-car train derailed but no one was injured.
Two cars were full of coal and seven were empty.
The train, pulled by four locomotives, had 22 full loads and 18 empty cars. A three-member crew was aboard.
“Everybody was pretty sad,” Lima said.
The derailment means that rail shipments to the RMC Pacific Materials plant will be halted until the track is repaired. Furtney estimated that could be a week.
RMC, which is headquartered in Pleasanton, has only one cement-manufacturing facility, which is in Davenport.
Lima, who has lived in the area for more than 20 years, said it was the first derailment she’s seen, but it was the second in the Aptos area in two months.
The previous accident, near Estates Drive in Seacliff, was caused by a broken rail, Furtney said.
Trains move slowly through the area; the speed limit is set at 10 mph because of track conditions.