At Least 13 Cars Off Tracks In Hazelwood Train Derailment
HAZELWOOD (KDKA) – Cleanup is underway in Hazelwood after 13 cars jumped the train tracks in the Hazelwood area of Pittsburgh Thursday morning.
According to emergency dispatchers, the freight train derailed in the 4100-block of Second Avenue around 10 a.m.
KDKA's Brenda Waters Reports:
The Allegheny Railroad train was negotiating an "S bend" when it derailed.
"Just a loud bang is about all it was. They were going so slow, it really did make a lot of difference," said a witness who only wanted to be identified as John. "I'm glad it wasn't the tanker at the end of the train."
At least 13 cars are believed to have derailed. Fortunately, all of the derailed cars were empty.
"The train was going approximately 10 mph. It wasn't carrying anything, all the cars were empty, no Hazmat materials, no materials at all. That was confirmed by police and Hazmat. The railroad folks have equipment on the way to upright the cars and they should be here later this afternoon or early this evening. They'll be working overnight to upright the cars," Pittsburgh Director of Operations Guy Costa said.
There are no reported injuries and no evacuations were necessary.
A portion of Second Avenue was closed for about an hour, but has since reopened.
Equipment is being brought in by Allegheny Valley Railroad to upright the hopper cars. They are expected to work into the night to clear the tracks.
"Right now, no one has a cause. At this point, we will know more once they get the cars off the tracks," said Costa.
The cause remains under investigation, but this derailment comes just days after a commuter train derailed in Philadelphia.
Latest on the Philadelphia Train Derailment:
The Amtrak train was traveling an estimated 106 mph in a curve where the speed limit drops to 50 mph. Seven people were killed and more than 200 people were injured in the resulting crash.
Meanwhile, Costa says the cars in the Hazelwood derailment are owned by Carload Express. When KDKA called the company, we were told they had no comment.
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