(The following report appeared on the CB5.com website on June 7.)
MARTINEZ, Calif. — Union Pacific Railroad officials are looking into what caused 11 empty tank cars to derail early this morning in their rail yard in Martinez, spokesman Mark Davis said.
The cars came off the track at about 5:10 a.m. Ten of the 11 cars overturned and one remained upright, Davis said.
No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were released, Davis said.
Heavy equipment arrived and officials began righting the cars at about 10 a.m.
Although the derailment caused minor damage to the tracks inside the yard, no commuter or other rail traffic was interrupted by the incident.
According to Davis, the train was only going between 4 and 10 mph when it came off the tracks.
The derailment is the second tank-car derailment in Martinez this week.
Union Pacific spokesman Gene Hinkle said that two empty tank cars derailed off a portion of track inside the Tesoro refinery in Martinez shortly before 9:40 a.m. on Monday.
Both cars remained upright and no injuries or releases resulted from the derailment.
Refinery personnel will be investigating the derailment because the portion of track where it took place was owned by the refinery, Hinkle said.
A spokesman for the refinery was not immediately available.