No injuries and cleanup completed Friday after Thursday afternoon train derailment in Brownsville
No injuries were reported following a minor train derailment on Thursday afternoon in Brownsville.
According to Jonathan Glass, the manager of public relations for the Norfolk Southern Corporation, three empty coal hopper cars on a freight train derailed on a rail line around 4:30 p.m.
“The three cars came off the tracks on a Norfolk Southern railroad bridge that crosses over Albany Road,” Glass said. “The cars were leaning but remained upright.”
No injuries were reported in the derailment, the cause of which is under investigation, said Glass.
Glass added that a Norfolk Southern train crew was operating the CSX train under an operating agreement between the two railroad companies as CSX operates an adjoining track through Brownsville.
The southbound train, which consisted of two locomotives and 80 empty hopper cars, was traveling from Newell to a coal mine in Greene County.
Norfolk Southern coordinated recovery efforts with CSX, and Norfolk Southern personnel worked into the early morning hours on Friday to rerail the three cars and remove them from the bridge.
Also on Friday, Glass said Norfolk Southern’s bridges and buildings group employees worked through the morning to repair minor damages to the bridge.
“The repairs, completed about 1:15 p.m. (Friday), included replacing a small section of damaged concrete with steel decking and ballast retainer,” Glass said on Friday. “Norfolk Southern has inspected the bridge and deemed it safe to resume regular rail operations.”
As a precautionary measure after the derailment, PennDOT closed Albany Road to vehicular traffic at the bridge as Norfolk Southern coordinating efforts with PennDOT so that the road could be reopened to motorists sometime Friday afternoon.
“Norfolk Southern apologizes to the Brownsville community for any inconvenience caused by this incident,” Glass said, adding that the company appreciates the professional response and assistance of Brownsville area first responders, including members of the volunteer fire department and Brownsville police.