Tag Archives: Derailment

Bakken Crude, Derailment, Explosion, Lynchburg Virginia

Lynchburg emergency calls to 911

Repost from  ABC13, WSET TV Lynchburg, Danville, Roanoke

911 Train Derailment Tapes Released

Posted: May 05, 2014 6:43 PM PDT By James Gherardi

WSET.com – ABC13

Lynchburg, VA – The 911 recordings from Wednesday’s train derailment in downtown Lynchburg were released Monday, and the terror in the voice of some of the callers, is obvious.

You can hear men and women frantically scrambling to get help to the downtown disaster.

“Lynchburg 911, what’s the address of the emergency?” asked the dispatcher.

“We’re on Jefferson Street right now next to the tracks; we see the derailing of a train. There’s a large fire, a lot of smoke” said one caller.

Firsthand accounts of the downtown trail derailment came to life Monday.

“Do you know if anyone’s on the train?” asked the dispatcher.

“No it appears just to be a cargo train. I guess it’s carrying some type of flammable liquid” said the caller.

“It really looks like it’s going to explode and I’ve got to get out of here, I’ve got to move, I’m sorry” said another man.

This caller was frantic, losing his train of thought, while watching the flames fly.

“I came down by the City Hall and I saw huge black smoke. Oh my God, I can’t believe, I’m sorry” he said.

“Ok, we’ve got someone on the way” said the dispatcher.

“It’s like a huge ball of flames, it looks like it’s getting worse and it’s definitely a chemical spill probably” he replied.

Five days later, cars are clear from the river. Tracks have been relayed and trains have resumed travel.

But knowing now of the potential for what can happen here, there’s a new push.

“It caused us some significant worry and we really want to understand, what is the Federal DoT doing to make sure the regulations appropriately keep communities safe” said Senator Tim Kaine.

Virginia Senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner urged the Department of Transportation Monday, to mandate upgrades in the transportation of crude oil by train, and to make sure cities are prepared to handle derailment disasters.

“You can’t prepare for a hazmat incident if you don’t know what exactly is being shipped. Your plan is only as good as the information you have about what’s coming through your community” he said.

Kaine said NTSB recommendations are one thing; whether they become safety standards is another. He said standards have got to be the case; Americans are transporting more oil by train now, than we were any year over the last decade.

Bakken Crude, Derailment, Explosion, James River, Lynchburg Virginia

BBC report on Lynchburg explosion

Repost from BBC News
[Editor: Interesting video and photo images here.  – RS]

Derailed US train bursts into flames in Lynchburg

April 30, 2014

lynchburg_amateur footage

Hundreds of people have been evacuated from a number of buildings in the city, but no injuries have been reported.

Oil has been spilling into the James river, according to reports.

Three or four tanker cars carrying crude oil were breached, according to a tweet by the city of Lynchburg, and more than a dozen tanker cars were involved in the collision.

A city spokeswoman said several train cars derailed at about 14:00 local time (18:00 GMT), and about 300 people have been evacuated from nearby buildings.

It happened very close to the city centre.

Lawyer John Francisco, who works in the city, told local TV station WSET 13 he heard a loud noise that sounded like a tornado and then saw flames rise high into the sky.

Lawyer John Francisco, who works in the city, told local TV station WSET 13 he heard a loud noise that sounded like a tornado and then saw flames rise high into the sky.

Train derailment in Lynchburg

Train derailment in Lynchburg

Train derailment in Lynchburg

AMTRAK, Derailment, Rail Safety

Latest derailment: Bainville, Montana

Repost from The Missoulian

Amtrak’s Empire Builder partially derails in NE Montana; 1 passenger injured

April 29, 2014

BAINVILLE — An Amtrak train carrying 117 passengers has resumed its journey after it partially derailed in northeastern Montana, causing minor injuries to one passenger.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari says two cars on the 13-car Empire Builder slipped off the tracks at a switch Monday afternoon near Bainville.

The passenger train was headed west from Chicago to Portland and Seattle. Magliari says the injured passenger was treated at the scene, then taken to a nearby hospital and later released.

The train remained upright and was moving again Monday evening after the damaged cars were uncoupled.

A spokesman for BNSF Railway Co., which maintains the tracks, says seven trains have been delayed while repairs are made. BNSF spokesman Matt Jones says the repairs are expected to be completed overnight.

Bakken Crude, Davis CA, Local Regulation, Santa Maria Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail

Davis Enterprise: Council passes unanimous resolution: no oil trains here

Repost from The Davis Enterprise
[Editor: Thanks to Milton Kalish of Davis for referring us to this story in the Davis Enterprise.  – RS]

No more oil trains chugging through our town, says Davis City Council

By Elizabeth Case | From page A1 | April 23, 2014

The Davis City Council passed a unanimous resolution Tuesday opposing projects in Benicia and Santa Maria that would increase the number of oil trains running through the city until certain safety issues have been addressed.

If both the Philips 66 Santa Maria refinery project and the Benicia rail terminal proposal are approved, 180 more oil cars will chug daily along Second Street and through downtown. A majority would roll in from Canada and North Dakota, whose Bakken shale oil has been recognized as especially flammable.

To support the opposition, the staff report cites the derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, last year that killed 47 people and caused $1 billion in damage, and the 1.15 million gallons of crude oil spilled in the United States in 2013. In addition, the railroad in Davis has one of the few turns in this area of the corridor, requiring trains to reduce their speeds.

“Given the record of crude-oil rail accidents in recent years, an event such as Lac-Mégantic could have catastrophic effects if it occurred amidst any populated area,” the report reads.

While railroads generally are regulated by the federal government, cities have local control over permits for land use, among others. The Davis City Council resolved to file comments opposing oil project permits “with the objective of ensuring that adequate … safety measures … are in place to ensure the safety and security of residents and visitors of the city of Davis and our adjacent habitat areas.”

The city will simultaneously work with railroad and transport companies, and the U.S. Department of Transportation, to assess and mitigate risk, including outdated rail cars and updated systems to warn operators of upcoming changes in speed.

The resolution’s passage followed a meeting hosted by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments on April 17. Berkeley’s city council passed a similar resolution opposing the Philips 66 project and Richmond called for tighter regulations last month.