(The following story by Jennifer A. Bowen appeared on the News-Democrat website on December 10.)
EVANSVILLE — Twelve cars derailed at 9:15 p.m. Thursday near Evansville in a Union Pacific train hauling coal from the mines in Southern Illinois up to Momence, near Chicago.
The cars derailed outside of Evansville between Evans Drive and Mulberry Street, said Mark Davis, director of regional public affairs for Union Pacific Railroad.
“We don’t yet know what caused the derailment, but we are investigating,” Davis said. “They were going fairly slow, around 10 mph, and where the derailment occurred is kind of precarious. There are houses close to the track on one side and the other side is the cemetery.”
No one was injured in the derailment, and evacuation of residents was not required.
Of the 12 derailed cars, 10 tipped over, spilling coal into yards and damaging some property near the tracks, Davis said.
“First thing this morning, around 7 a.m., we had crews on the site to begin cleanup as well as railroad employees that work in our claims operations,” Davis said. “We understand the inconvenience and really apologize to the residents in the area.”
Heavy equipment to move the cars and clean up the spill was in place at the derailment site Thursday night, Davis said, but crews opted to start the cleanup Friday morning. The spilled coal was expected to be cleaned up by Friday afternoon and the derailed cars, if they weren’t out of the way by Friday, will be moved today, Davis said.
Crews will also have to replace about 450 feet of track that was damaged during the derailment. Those repairs were expected to be completed Friday night and the tracks reopened.
“It is unacceptable when we have a derailment, but we know the inconveniences for the residents,” Davis said. “Our claims operations people will work with each resident for any property damage. With the added stresses of the holiday season, we know how inconvenient this is for residents, and we will do what we can before the holidays.”