Economy

Source: Associated Press via Richmond Times-Dispatch

Posted: Friday, October 9, 2015 9:33 am
Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, W.Va. (AP) — Federal investigators say a broken rail that wasn't found on two previous inspections led to a fiery oil train derailment in southern West Virginia in February.

The Federal Railroad Administration on Friday announced the results of its investigation into the Feb. 16 derailment during a snowstorm in Mount Carbon.

The FRA says the broken rail resulted from a vertical split head rail defect. The problem was missed by CSX Corp. and a contractor on two separate inspections in the months leading up the accident.

The CSX train was carrying 3 million gallons of Bakken crude oil. Twenty-seven of the train's 109 cars derailed. Twenty cars leaked crude oil.

Friday, October 9, 2015
Feds say broken rail caused Fayette County train derailment
By Lori Kersey, Weekend Editor



Gazette-Mail file photos
Derailed train cars burn on the evening of Feb. 16, 2015, after a CSX oil train derailed in Fayette County. On Friday, the Federal Railroad Administration said the derailment was caused by a broken rail, which was missed in two inspections in the months before the derailment.



Emergency officials walk by the site where fire from a CSX oil train derailment destroyed a Fayette County man’s truck, house and garage near Mount Carbon on Feb. 16, 2015.

February's derailment of a CSX oil train in Fayette County, which sparked a fire that destroyed one home and forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents, was caused by a broken rail, an investigation by the Federal Railroad Administration has shown.

The FRA, the lead agency in the response to and investigation of the derailment, has planned a 9:30 a.m. news conference to discuss the results of its investigation.

The CSX train, hauling 107 tank car loads of Bakken Shale crude oil from North Dakota to a transportation terminal in Yorktown, Virginia, derailed in Adena Village near Mount Carbon and Deepwater around 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 16, setting one house on fire and causing numerous tank cars to burn and explode.

The broken rail was the result of a vertical split head rail defect, which CSX and its contractor, Sperry Rail Service, missed twice in the months leading up to the incident, according to the FRA.