19 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

MSN, 6/28/16:

Texas train collision triggers fireball; no word on injuries

Several box cars have derailed and are engulfed in flames following a freight train collision in the Texas Panhandle.

The burning story

[KevinKorell]

ABC News, 6/28/16:

3 Crew Members Missing After Texas Freight Train Crash, Authorities Say

 

Texas authorities said today that three train workers remained missing as emergency crews continued to fight a fire caused by an explosive train crash in Texas this morning.

 

Joe Faust, a spokesman for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, said that two of its mixed-freight trains were involved in the accident at 8:40 a.m. in Panhandle, Texas.

That story

[CNJRoss]

BNSF Customer Notification:
 

To:

06/28/2016

Preliminary Report: Derailment at Panhandle, Texas
 

On Tuesday, June 28, 2016 at 08:25 a.m. Central Time, we received a preliminary report that the S-LACLPC1-26 and Q-CHISBD6-27 were involved in a derailment near Panhandle, TX. Panhandle, TX is approximately 27 miles East of Amarillo, TX. The estimated time for opening for the main track has not been determined.

BNSF Load and Ride Solutions (LARS) is estimated to be on-site at 5:00 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, June 28, 2016.

BNSF will continue to provide you with additional information as it becomes available. Customers may experience delays of 36 to 48 hours on shipments moving through this corridor.

 

 

[KevinKorell]

This is I assume on the BNSF Transcon line, which is not served by Amtrak as it takes the lower grade route between Newton, KS and Belen, NM.

[CNJRoss]

Bloomberg News, 6/28 updated 5:07 pm:
 

Two BNSF Freight Trains Collide in Texas on Busy Rail Route

• One worker injured, rescue efforts continue for three others
• ‘Doubtful’ others are alive, sheriff’s office spokesman says

 

Two BNSF Railway Co. freight trains collided in Texas, leaving at least one worker injured. Rescue efforts were under way for three other employees involved in the accident. 

 

The prospects for finding the missing crew members alive “would be doubtful,” Scott Sherwood, a spokesman for the Carson County sheriff’s office, said in a telephone interview at about 6 p.m. local time.

 

“It’s still smoking and smoldering, but we don’t have flames,” he said. “Until maybe an hour ago, we still had significant flames. It’d still be way too hot to go in there right now.”

 

SNIP

 

The Federal Railroad Administration said in a statement that its investigators had arrived on the scene, which is about 28 miles east of Amarillo, Texas. The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team of six rail specialists to investigate the accident, the agency said in a tweet.

 

More here.

[CNJRoss]

AP 6/28 updated 9:08 pm EDT:

 

3 missing, 1 injured in head-on train collision in Texas

 

DALLAS (AP) -- Three crew members were missing and one was hurt Tuesday after a head-on train collision in the Texas Panhandle that caused several box cars to erupt in flames and led authorities to evacuate residents in the area.

 

The two BNSF Railway freight trains were on the same track when they collided near the town of Panhandle, about 25 miles northeast of Amarillo. Each train carried two crew members; one man jumped before the collision, according to BNSF spokesman Joe Faust.

 

That man was in stable condition at an Amarillo hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening,  .  .  .

 

SNIP

 

It's not clear how fast the trains were traveling when they collided, but the speed limit in that area is 70 mph, Faust said. It also wasn't clear why the trains were on the same track.  .  .  .

 

SNIP

 

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway said the NTSB has opened an investigation, and the Federal Railroad Administration said it has investigators on site.

 

Continue here.

[KevinKorell]

CBS DFW, 6/29/16:

Crews Continue Fighting Fire At Texas Train Crash, 3 Still Missing

Crews continued to work trying to smolder a fire at the scene of a train crash that happened Tuesday morning in the Texas panhandle.

This is the latest.

[CNJRoss]

BNSF Customer Notification:
 

To: All Impacted Customers

  06/29/2016

Updated Report: Derailment in Panhandle, Texas

On Tuesday, June 28, 2016 at 08:25 a.m. Central Time, we received a preliminary report that the S-LACLPC1-26 and Q-CHISBD6-27 were involved in a derailment near Panhandle, TX. Panhandle, TX is approximately 27 miles East of Amarillo, TX. The estimated time for opening for the main track has not been determined.

BNSF Load and Ride Solutions (LARS) are currently on site in Panhandle, TX. Customer assessments of impacted units will be available beginning this afternoon.

BNSF will continue to provide you with additional information as it becomes available. Customers may experience delays of 36 to 48 hours on shipments moving through this corridor.

 

 

[CNJRoss]

KFDA-TV Amarillo, TX 6/29:
 

NTSB begins investigation into deadly train crash

 

PANHANDLE, TX (KFDA) - A senior investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board held a news conference on Wednesday to answer questions about Tuesday's train collision and to say the initial investigation could take "four or five" days.

 

Two bodies have been recovered from the scene and recovery efforts continue for the third. One worker was injured and was taken to the hospital on Tuesday. He is currently in stable condition.

 

Two BNSF freight trains collided at 8:25 a.m. Tuesday, resulting in a derailment and fire. There were four crew members total, two on each train.

 

"Our mission is to understand not just what happened, but why it happened, and to make recommendations or changes to prevent it from happening again," said Railroad Accident Investigator Richard Hipskind.

 

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

Railway Age, 6/29:

Head-on crash on BNSF Transcon

 

Two BNSF intermodal trains collided head-on early Tuesday morning, June 28, 2016, on the railroad’s busy Chicago-Los Angeles Transcon near Panhandle, Tex., about 25 miles northeast of Amarillo. Three crew members were missing and one was injured in the accident, which created a large fire and forced the evacuation of area residents.

 

SNIP

 

Unofficial information obtained by Railway Age indicates one of the trains involved ran past a stop signal.

 

Continue here.