A freight train derailed in Union City Wednesday afternoon, spilling its load of coal along a long swatch of track, authorities said.
About 17 CSX coal cars overturned at the rail crossing near Flat Shoals Road and Union Street, Union City police spokesman George Louth said.
No injuries were reported.
"There won't be any hazardous materials to clean up," CSX spokesman Gary Sease said.
The derail happened around 1:45 p.m., Louth said, leaving the locomotive in downtown Union City, and the tail somewhere near Dodson Street about three miles away.
The train was delivering 100 cars of coal from Kentucky to Red Level Junction, Fla, about 75 miles south of Gainesville, CSX spokesman Craig Camuso said.
Intersections along the path of the railroad crossings at Flat Shoals Road near Roosevelt Highway, and at Union Street are not accessible, and will likely be closed for several days, police said.
Motorists are able to cross at the intersections of West Brook and Main streets, and at Dodson Street at Roosevelt Highway.
It is unclear how fast the train was going, but the rail speed limit posted for the area was 25 mph, Camuso said.
CSX officials will be looking to event recorders on the locomotive — the railroad equivalent of an airplane's "black box" — to begin investigating the cause of the derailment.
"Our investigation always starts with three main factors: the track, the equipment, and how train was being operated," Sease said.
Emergency and rail teams are on the scene for clean-up efforts.
About the Author
The Latest
Featured
