CSX Transportation warned customers to expect delays of one to two days receiving shipments for East Coast traffic that moves through Baltimore after eight cars on a train derailed in the city Sunday morning.
The large railroad said it is re-routing some freight where possible.
The accident is causing havoc for commuters on Monday because the trains are blocking tracks that are also used by commuter trains on the MARC Camden Line. The Maryland Transportation Administration said the light rail is using a single track, causing delays of up to 45 minutes. Originally, all the tracks were blocked.
The CSX train was traveling northbound from Hamlet, N.C., to Selkirk, N.Y., according to the Washington Post.
CSX has had a string of recent accidents in Maryland. In late May, a CSX freight train collided with a garbage truck crossing the tracks south of Baltimore causing a large explosion and fire that damaged nearby buildings. Police said the truck driver was at fault and issued him seven citations. CSX is suing the the driver and his company, Alban Waste LLC, in federal court for negligence. Last August, a CSX coal train derailed in Ellicott City, killing two girls along the tracks who were were buried under the coal.
In 2001, a CSX train derailed inside the Howard St. tunnel in downtown Baltimore setting off a huge blaze that halted CSX traffic along the I-95 corridor for days.
Meanwhile, clean up was completed Saturday at the Port of Tampa after 14 cars on a CSX ethanol train derailed their Thursday morning. CSX moved the cars that jumped the tracks and repaired the railroad crossing at Maritime Boulevard, while emergency response teams removed about 4,500 gallons of spilled fuel, according to the Tampa Port Authority. Port operations are back to normal.
In late June, two CSX freight trains in upstate New York derailed, disrupting Amtrak service. Earlier this month, 20 cars derailed on a CSX coal train in southern West Virginia. – Eric Kulisch
CSX cleans up train derailments in Md., Fla.
