PHILADELPHIA — CSX Transportation has filed suit in federal court against Hainesport Industrial Railroad LLC, claiming the New Jersey company overloaded hopper cars it delivered to CSX and those cars caused two trains to derail at the same location 11 days apart.
According to court documents, CSX took delivery of railcars from Hainesport Industrial Railroad in October 2017 which were loaded with construction and debris material, and the cars derailed at milepost BFF 0.5 in Philadelphia. The first derailment took place on or about Oct. 7, 2017, court document say, and the second derailment occurred Oct. 18. CSX claims in the lawsuit that the cars were overloaded and caused the derailments.
The Oct. 18 derailment resulted in an emergency response. The Hainesport car, one of three which derailed, overturned and spilled its load. NBC Philadelphia reported that fire crews sprayed water on the debris spilled from the Hainesport car because it was believed the load had caught fire, but a subsequent investigation determined there was no fire, just steam rising from the load.
According to the lawsuit, representatives from CSX met with representatives from Hainesport Industrial Railroad to discuss the derailments and Hainesport President Ron Bridges, during the meeting with CSX, agreed that the cars were overloaded. The lawsuit also claims that Hainesport “failed to maintain equipment it used to weigh its railcars before tendering them to CSX” for shipment” and that “Hainesport’s procedure for weighing railcars prior to tendering them to CSX was not designed to accurately ascertain the true weight of the railcars.”
The lawsuit contends Hainesport was required to abide by standards set forth by CSX in regard to the loading of railcars. Hainesport, the lawsuit said, failed to follow those standards, and the derailments resulted from that failure.
“Hainesport owed a duty to the public and rail carriers, such as CSX, to ensure its railcars were reasonably safe and properly loaded to prevent derailment while being transported,” the lawsuit says. “Hainesport breached its duty to CSX by failing to take precautions to prevent overloading railcars, failing to properly load and weigh railcars and failing to operate in a safe or workmanlike manner.”
CSX also claims “Hainesport’s failure to ensure the accuracy of the weights it represented to CSX was willful, wanton or reckless.”
The lawsuit says CSX determined it suffered damages in the amount of $165,480.11, and that Hainesport has either failed, or refused to pay for the damage CSX determined it suffered.
Hainesport Industrial Railroad, a 2-mile switching railroad, is located in Hainesport, N.J., about 20 miles east of Philadelphia. It is part of the privately held Hainesport Transportation Group, which focuses on waste transfer and transportation.
Does the shortline have any comment about this? Did Trains bother to ask it?
It is a locally unpopular operation and I have not seen a train on those tracks for several months. The ones I have infrequently observed use NS locomotives I guess from Conrail in Camden to pull no more than a dozen boxcars.. It is apparently some type of gimmick to circumvent NJ solid waste disposal laws since railroads are not subject to state regulation. The only benefit i see is that at least it keeps that spur through Moorestown from going derelict. Once you get east of Hainesport it is weeds and rust into Mt. Holly. Going West it seems to cross the Delair Bridge into PA which I guess may be CSX track. The Hainesport tracks no longer extend southwest through Maple Shade and Merchantville down into Camden.