A
train has derailed this afternoon near Wilmington, causing traffic
delays, state police said. Railroad officials expect the road to be
reopened by 5:30 p.m.
Lancaster Pike is closed in the area west of DuPont Road in the city due to the disabled train, the Delaware Department of Transportation said in an emergency road closure announcement issued at 2:39 p.m.
State police warned that the roadway will be closed for an extended period of time due to the derailment of six East Penn Railway freight cars.
The derailment occurred at 1:54 p.m., police said.
Commuters are asked to find alternate means of travel around the area. Bob Parker, president and CEO of the Regional Rail LLC, which owns East Penn Railway, said the railroad company is working to move the cars from the roadway.
"We are bringing a locomotive behind the cars to pull them back off the road," Parker said. "Some of them we will need a crane."
Parker said all of the cars were empty, except for one flatbed which was hauling a load of steel plates from a mill in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. The cars were heading south into the CSX rail yard, about 30 minutes from where the derailment occurred, Parker said.
Once the cars are removed and traffic is moving freely, then the company will begin to investigate the cause of the derailment, Parker said, noting that the priority is removing them from the road.
Lancaster Pike is closed in the area west of DuPont Road in the city due to the disabled train, the Delaware Department of Transportation said in an emergency road closure announcement issued at 2:39 p.m.
State police warned that the roadway will be closed for an extended period of time due to the derailment of six East Penn Railway freight cars.
The derailment occurred at 1:54 p.m., police said.
Commuters are asked to find alternate means of travel around the area. Bob Parker, president and CEO of the Regional Rail LLC, which owns East Penn Railway, said the railroad company is working to move the cars from the roadway.
"We are bringing a locomotive behind the cars to pull them back off the road," Parker said. "Some of them we will need a crane."
Parker said all of the cars were empty, except for one flatbed which was hauling a load of steel plates from a mill in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. The cars were heading south into the CSX rail yard, about 30 minutes from where the derailment occurred, Parker said.
Once the cars are removed and traffic is moving freely, then the company will begin to investigate the cause of the derailment, Parker said, noting that the priority is removing them from the road.