All Kansas City Southern de Mexico service to and from the Mexico City-area remains suspended, KCS officials say.
Vandals reportedly blocked tracks in Nopala in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, stopping a freight train which was then rear-ended by another train, according to Mexico News Daily.
The engineer of the lead train said a barricade made of tires, branches, and rocks forced him to stop, and nearby thieves raided intermodal containers for appliances and audio equipment.
A second train, carrying hoppers of grain, hit the stopped train. Fire engulfed the lead locomotive on the second train plus some of the at least 15 cars reported derailed in the collision.
Mexico News Daily said there were three injuries; local news publication Diario Rotativo and Azteco Uno Television reported four, Diario Rotativo saying that they were locomotive “operators.”
KCS officials say they had hoped the double tracks at Nopala on the KCSM Tula District could be re-opened by late last weekend but say the route remains closed as of this morning. El Sol de Hildago (The Hildago Sun) reported that cleanup crews had been delayed until authorities could complete investigations.
An Azteco Uno video report at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV7iYMeTmzM shows KCSM ES44AC No. 4773 lying on its side at the collision scene along with the charred wreckage of another unit entangled with containers and their flatcars.
Mexico News Daily said that during the first quarter of 2019, Mexico had 1,027 thefts from trains, up by a third. The most common freight stolen was grains, seeds, auto parts, and construction materials.
According to the newspaper, Federal Police say a gang which broke off from a cartel specializes in rail and fuel theft along the border between the states of Puebla and Veracruz.
Most Mexican rail thefts have occurred in the states of Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Sonora.
