NEW BRIGHTON, Pa.(PRNewswire) — State and local officials today were working on clean-up after a Norfolk Southern Railroad freight train derailed near New Brighton in Beaver County, about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.
Jim Joseph, director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), reported that 24 cars of an 80-car freight train derailed. A number of cars plunged into the Beaver River, others came to rest on the embankment, while more than a dozen cars were scattered along the tracks. Most of the derailed cars were tanker cars and contained ethanol. The remainder of the cars have been segregated from those that derailed.
“Local and county emergency management personnel have done an excellent job in responding to the incident,” Joseph said. “This response illustrates the strength of a regional approach when dealing with such an accident. The locals are being supported by Region 13 Task Force to supply additional equipment and personnel as needed.”
Department of Transportation District Executive Dan Cessna said the agency is working with local authorities to implement a detour for local traffic using the Beaver Falls-New Brighton Bridge on Route 18, which is closed. He said electronic message signs will be erected to direct motorists.
The detour for the bridge, which carries Pennsylvania Routes 65 and 18, is: northbound 18 take PA 51 north to PA 60 to PA 551 east; southbound 18 take PA 551 west to PA 60 south to PA 51 south. For northbound 65 use the same detour as PA 18. For southbound 65 take PA 588 west to PA 51 south.
Representatives of various state agencies, including the PEMA, the Department of Environment Protection, State Police and the PennDOT, were at the scene. Additionally, members of the Civil Air Patrol, who were on a training exercise in Westmoreland County, are doing overflights of the scene to provide photos and to aid in site assessment.
Joseph said one of the immediate concerns is getting the rail line re-opened and back in operation. The line not only serves freight trains but Amtrak rail passenger service, he added. The railroad is working on a detour.
Several cars containing ethanol were burning, but steps were being taken to speed up the burn to help stabilize the scene and move the clean-up process along. There reportedly is no danger of additional cars exploding. Kathleen McGinty, secretary of Environmental Protection said the burning ethanol, a colorless, flammable liquid used as a solvent, does not pose an environmental risk, so the plan is to move ahead with the clean up. DEP is monitoring the water quality of the Beaver River, she added.
Joseph said there is also concern about a fiber optic line along the Beaver Falls-New Brighton Bridge that may have been damaged in the incident. Repair crews are on the scene and the state Emergency Operations Center is what damage or disruption of communications may have occurred, he said.
Local residents were evacuated after the derailment, but no homes were damaged and there were no reports of injuries, Joseph said. The Red Cross has set up a shelter at the New Brighton Middle School.
The state has activated its Emergency Operations Center and has offered assistance to the Beaver County Emergency Management Agency.
