RICHMOND, Texas — Twenty-three cars of a Union Pacific train derailed today (March 18) in the Houston suburb of Richmond. No evacuation has been ordered, although officials say leaks have been detected from two cars carrying ethanol.
“Both leaks are contained,” Fort Bend County Fire Marshal Justin York said in a press conference carried by KRIV-TV. “It is not posing any threat to the public and air monitoring is ongoing as a precaution. There is no need for evacuation at this time.”
York said the situation “remains active and under assessment as crews continue to evaluate all railcars. … This is a complex operation and will take time to complete safely.”
Union Pacific said in a updated statement to Trains that the derailment occurred about 5 a.m. and that no one was injured. “Three derailed tank cars released product: one released corn syrup, the other two released ethanol,” the statement said. “The spills have been contained, and recovery of the product is underway. The incident is under investigation.”
The railroad did not have an estimated time for reopening the main line.
The derailment occurred adjacent to U.S. Route 90 near OakBend Medical Center in Richmond, a community of 11,627 (as of 2020) about 30 miles southwest of Houston. The incident originally blocked all grade crossings in the Richmond area, but as of about 10:30 a.m., the City of Richmond said in a Facebook post that the remainder of the train had been moved east to alleviate the blockage.
The derailment site is on Union Pacific’s Glidden Subdivision. It is about 15 miles west of the site a Tuesday grade crossing collision between Amtrak’s Sunset Limited and a truck [see “Two minor injuries reported …,” Trains.com, March 18, 2026]. Amtrak is citing the derailment on social media as a reason for the full-route cancellations of today’s Sunset Limited departures from Los Angeles and New Orleans. The westbound train had previously been canceled between New Orleans and San Antonio because of Tuesday’s accident.
— To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.
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