– A massive cleanup effort is ongoing after a CSX freight train derailed along Rhode Island Avenue in Washington D.C. on Sunday morning. No injuries were reported, and the chemicals pose no immediate danger to the public, D.C. Assistant Fire Chief John Donnelly and CSX spokeswoman Kristin Seay said.
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She added that no cause for the accident had been determined, but a federal investigation into the derailment had begun.
A CSX freight train derailed in northeast Washington, D.C., early Sunday, spilling hazardous chemicals along a busy rail corridor.
Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, is used in the making of soaps, nylon and textiles, as well as food production. NE, resulting in leaks of hazardous materials. She said that there were no air-quality or water-quality problems. It is unclear how many people are affected by the closure, said a NBC news report. The train, which was “traveling from Cumberland, Maryland, to Hamlet, North Carolina”, had a total of 175 cars. MARC says the trains won’t run past Silver Spring and it is urging commuters to consider alternatives.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which runs the region’s transit system, said the Rhode Island Avenue station reopened Monday morning and normal service on the Red Line had resumed. Officials say they do not know what substance is leaking. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it can irritate or burn eyes, skin and mucous membranes. Photos tweeted by DC Fire and Emergency showed cars in a zigzag line across the tracks. CSX is now in the midst of the $170 million project, which includes twin tunnels built to allow for double-stacked trains. It is white, odorless and solid at room temperature, usually stored as flakes, beads or in granular form.
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In a release CSX said their continued work in response to the derailment overnight. Amtrak will bus passengers to and from Pittsburgh to complete their journeys. CSX said its wheels were so damaged in this derailment that they can’t roll it out, so it will have to be lifted by a crane onto another flatbed truck. A split rail caused the derailment of two locomotives and 13 loaded gondola cars transporting scrap metal.
