Flooding likely led to fiery Fort Worth train derailment in 2019, NTSB says
A fiery train derailment in southeast Fort Worth was likely caused by weakened railroad tracks due to flooding after days of heavy rains at Echo Lake, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report issued Thursday.
The tracks were weakened to the point where they couldn’t handle the weight of the train.
The NTSB also said that deferred maintenance of the emergency and primary spillways at Echo Lake and “the absence of dynamic weather reporting criteria at the Union Pacific Railroad” were contributing factors.
Kristen South, a spokesperson for Union Pacific, said in an emailed statement: “At the time of the incident, Union Pacific had no reason to believe that the spillway at Echo Lake, which is not railroad property, was not being properly maintained. Had it been, water would not have streamed over the tracks, causing a washout and subsequent derailment. A flash flood warning was issued after the derailment occurred.”
Shortly after midnight on April 24, 2019, a southbound Union Pacific freight train loaded with denatured ethanol, a flammable mixture of alcohol and natural gas, reached an S curve, where 26 cars derailed south of East Berry Street, between Interstate 35W and South Riverside Drive. Several cars caught fire, and the flames spread to a stable, killing three horses. Several homes were evacuated.
The report described how the tracks were washed out at the site of the derailment. A thunderstorm was dumping 2 inches of rain per hour at the time.
Crew members told the NTSB that water was pooling over the tracks at the time of the accident.
The report also said that the crew didn’t get any warnings from Union Pacific dispatchers about flooding or severe weather.
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 4:01 PM.