Tank car leak at Tempe derailment site contained
The tank car leaking a hazardous material at the site of Wednesday’s Union Pacific derailment in Tempe, Ariz., has been contained, officials said Thursday. An estimated 500 gallons of cyclohexanone, a flammable solvent, leaked from the car into a storm drain near the accident site, the Arizona Republic reports. The car, one of two containing the chemical, has been righted and moved from the scene. Union Pacific spokesman Lupe Valdez, at a Thursday press conference, apologized for the impact to the community and said the railroad would rebuild the collapsed portion of the 105-year-old Salt River bridge. Light rail service, which operates on a parallel bridge and had been stopped since the Wednesday morning derailment and fire, resumed Thursday afternoon.
First Nations group protests inability to get tickets for VIA train
A First Nations group in northern Manitoba held a protest as a VIA Rail Canada train passed through its community on Wednesday night, and threatened a blockade of the train if VIA doesn’t start providing more seats for local residents. The CBC reports members of the War Lake First Nation gathered in Ilford, Man., as the train between Winnipeg and Churchill, Man., passed through. Betsey Kennedy, the War Lake chief, said people in the community use the train year-round, but are currently having a hard time getting tickets because tourists are buying all the tickets. The group is asking that VIA add another coach to the train to provide more capacity.
Ice buildup caused CN derailment, TSB says
Ice jacking — a scenario in which ice builds up and physically separates a rail from its tie plate, allowing gauge spread — is blamed for a derailment of a Canadian National train earlier this year, according to a report released this week by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. The Feb. 18 incident in Emo, Ontario — just north of the border with Minnesota and about halfway between Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Thunder Bay, Ont. — saw 33 cars derail, including 28 cars of crude oil; six of those cars spilled a total of more than 84,000 gallons of oil. There was no fire and no one was injured, although six nearby houses were evacuated as a precautionary measure.
