News & Reviews News Wire NS train derails in Springfield, Ohio (updated)

NS train derails in Springfield, Ohio (updated)

By Trains Staff | March 5, 2023

| Last updated on February 5, 2024


No hazardous materials involved in 20-car derailment; initial shelter-in-place order is lifted

Aerial view of derailed freight cars
The scene of the Norfolk Southern derailment in Springfield, Ohio, on March 5, 2023. Sol Tucker

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Twenty-eight cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed near Springfield on Saturday evening, leading to an initial shelter-in-place order from local authorities before it was determined no hazardous-materials situation was involved.

The Associated Press reports that there were no hazardous materials aboard the train and no injuries were involved. Clark County reported that four cars had residual amounts of non-hazardous materials: two with diesel exhaust fluid and two with polyacrylamide water solution, which is used to remove suspended particles from runoff.

NS said the 212-car train was en route from Bellevue, Ohio, to Birmingham, Ala., according to NBC News. A small amount of plastic pellets spilled from one car, but those were not hazardous, according to Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Director Ann Vogel. Cleanup did not begin until Sunday morning because electric lines were involved in the derailment.

The shelter-in-place order for those within 1,000 feet of the derailment site was lifted, while State Route 41 remains closed until further notice.

The train derailed about 5 p.m.

Springfield is about 46 miles west of the state capital of Columbus, and about 180 miles west-southwest of the Feb. 3 site of the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

— Updated at 5:30 p.m. CST with revised count of number of cars involved, additional details; updated March 6 at 8:45 a.m. with image from derailment cleanup.

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