Railroads Suffer 2 More Derailments, No Injuries Reported

Railroads reported two derailments, one in Alabama on Saturday and another in Texas on Monday, but no injuries or toxic chemical spills were reported.

Three empty tank cars derailed but remained upright in a southeast Texas rail yard on Monday, the train’s owner said.

A locomotive leaked fuel but it was contained, Kansas City Southern spokesperson C. Doniele Carlson said in a statement.

The derailment took place at around 7 a.m. in Kendleton, Texas, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Houston, Carlson said.

“No injuries were reported and there is no track damage,” she said. The impacted rail line was expected to reopen later Monday morning.

Officials with the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office said they did not respond to the incident because it was contained to the rail yard.

The cause of the derailment is under investigation, Carlson said.

Federal regulators and members of Congress are urging railroads to do more to prevent derailments after recent fiery wrecks involving hazardous chemicals in Ohio and Minnesota prompted evacuations.

Norfolk Southern said Sunday that a train derailment in Alabama did not involve toxic materials and did not create danger for the public. Workers were cleaning up diesel fuel and engine oil that spilled from the locomotive.

Norfolk Southern said in a statement Sunday that the derailment of a locomotive and 11 train cars happened Saturday night in Jasper, AL.com reported. The company said two of the train’s crew members were briefly trapped in the engine room, and that they were treated at a hospital and released.

Jasper is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Birmingham.

“During the derailment, the locomotive rolled onto its side and as a result spilled some diesel fuel and engine oil,” the railroad said Sunday. “Norfolk Southern crews have responded and have been working through the night on cleanup, and all of the involved cars have been cleared from the track.”

The derailment happened weeks after several Norfolk Southern train cars went off the tracks March 9 in a rural area of Calhoun County, Alabama, which is northeast of Birmingham.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in March it will begin a broad look at Norfolk Southern’s safety culture — the first such investigation within the rail industry since 2014. The board said it has sent investigation teams to look into five significant accidents involving the company since December 2021.