MAY 9, 2015
ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA
The trains seem to have hard time staying on the tracks.
Norfolk Southern confirming that four empty coal hopper
train cars flew off the tracks around 8 o'clock Friday night.
But certainly not the first time a train has derailed in
Altoona. Norfolk Southern confirms that 4 cars flew off the tracks around
8-friday night.
But for neighbors living near here -- it's not the first
time this has happened so close to home. Right now I am living about 3 or 4
blocks up from these tracks and you can just hear boom, boom! This is what it
looked like Saturday morning.
As crews began to repair the railroad tracks and clean up
after a 4 car train derailment. According to a spokesperson with Norfolk
Southern the train weighed about 13 thousand tons and stretched nearly 8
thousand feet and was traveling to Allentown when the accident happened.
Altoona is a crew change point. So they train was pulling
into the yard when they 14-17 cars derailed. The train was pulling 139 cars.
Ninety-six of them were empty and luckily it was 4 empty cars that toppled
over.
No one was injured. Some community members say they are
concerned about the safety of the railroad. There are so many accidents waiting
to happen on this line it is pathetic.
Just 8 months earlier in September 2014 a train carrying
passenger vans and cars derailed in Altoona sending vans flying into the air. A
total of 17 cars derailed from the tracks.
But Norfolk Southern saying safety
is always a top priority – this is lip service, as there are thousands of
derailments and accidents every year. There is no reason to be concerned about
safety? This must be a joke. But with the FRA sleeping at their desks or
bought by the railroad lobbyists, the accidents will only continue to increase with
the aging infrastructure.
Source: http://www.fox8tv.com