This is one of the 14 train cars that derailed near the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station in Washington, D.C. on May 1, 2016. (WTOP/Nick Iannelli) Faulty wheel blamed for CSX train derailment in DC
By Nick Iannelli | @NickWTOP August 18, 2016 10:55 am
WASHINGTON — A new report from CSX blames a faulty wheel for a train derailment that sent more than a dozen train cars off the tracks earlier this year in Northeast D.C.
CSX’s determination was included in an accident report that has been filed with the Federal Railroad Administration, Rob Doolittle, a company spokesman, confirmed to WTOP.
The company’s report shows the derailment was caused by a failure in a portion of an axle on the first car that went off the tracks, Dolittle said.
The railroad administration is continuing to investigate the derailment.
Fourteen of the train’s 175 cars derailed near the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station in May. The CSX tracks were shut down for three days, disrupting service on MARC and Amtrak.
One of the train cars leaked hundreds of gallons of sodium hydroxide, a hazardous chemical. Other cars leaked nonhazardous substances, such as calcium chloride and ethanol.
The Washington Post obtained the accident report and first reported on its findings.
Doolittle said the faulty wheel is being analyzed to determine what may have caused the axle to break. Doolittle said the portion of the axle that failed would not typically undergo visual or mechanical inspection.
“Safety is CSX’s highest priority and we want to take anything we can learn from this incident and apply it to our operations to try to ensure that it doesn’t happen again,” Doolittle said.
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WASHINGTON –A CSX freight train derailed near the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station Sunday morning, leaving several cars overturned and a hazardous leak coming from at least one car, according to city officials.
No injuries have been reported. It’s unclear what caused the derailment.
According to CSX, 14 cars derailed from a train bound for Hamlet, North Carolina, from Cumberland, Maryland. The derailment occurred at around 6:40 a.m.
The leak of sodium hydroxide, described as coming from one full tank car, was finally “plugged,” and emergency responders, including hazmat crews, had moved on to the clean-up phase, officials said during a 10:45 a.m. press conference.
“CSX operations and hazardous materials personnel are working with first responders on the derailment this morning in Washington D.C.,” CSX said in a statement. “The safety of the community, first responders and CSX’s employees is our highest priority.”
Sodium hydroxide is used primarily “to produce various household products including paper, soap and detergents.”
CSX later said crews found leaks in two other cars . A rail car leaking non-hazardous calcium chloride solution had been sealed. Another ethanol rail car was leaking from the base of a valve. A CSX spokeswoman said crews were working to seal the leak.
The train car leaks have since been sealed, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a news conference Sunday evening.
Rhode Island Avenue was closed in both directions from 4th to 12th Streets Northeast until 12:30 p.m.
There was no Red Line service between NoMa and Brookland. Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said Metro hopes to restore service later Sunday night.
Maryland transit officials said major delays were expected for MARC’s Brunswick Line, which is unlikely to operate past Silver Spring on Monday.
Amtrak service was also disrupted by Sunday’s derailment. A spokeswoman said late Sunday that bus service would provided between D.C. and Pittsburgh until the tracks were cleared.
WTOP’s Tiffany Arnold contributed to this report.