MAGNOLIA, W.Va. — A Monday afternoon CSX derailment in a remote area of West Virginia has disrupted operations of Amtrak’s Capitol Limited.
The Monday derailment in Morgan County, W.Va., near the community of Magnolia, involved nine cars, four of which were carrying sodium hydroxide, a corrosive material that can cause severe skin burns and eye damage. While originally reported as a hazardous materials incident, no spill resulted from those four cars. The other cars involved included one carrying dry cement, one carrying calcium chloride, and three empty cars, CSX said in a statement reported by the West Virginia news site Lootpress.
One of the two lines through the site was expected to be reopened by 1 p.m. today.; the second should be reopened tomorrow. An early report indicated the derailment occurred in a tunnel, although that has not been mentioned in any subsequent news report.
The derailment resulted in Monday night’s westbound Capitol Limited returning to Washington, D.C., after it had departed there; the rest of that trip was canceled; last night’s eastbound departure from Chicago was also canceled. Both today’s trains have also been canceled, according to the “Train Status” function on the Amtrak website.
