HAMILTON, Ohio — Two Norfolk Southern trains collided early Tuesday morning, injuring at least one crew member and disrupting traffic in an adjacent Cincinnati suburb.
The accident occurred about 1:30 a.m. In an email statement to Fox 19 TV, Norfolk Southern spokesman Tom Werner said southbound intermodal train 25A rear-ended train 143, derailing three cars on the latter train. “One crew member of 25A reported an injury,” Werner said in the statement. “Both crew members of 25A have been taken by ambulance to a local hospital for examination.”
Train 143 is an Elkhart, Ind.-Chattanooga manifest train; intermodal train 25A runs from Chicago to Danville, Ky. The accident occurred on the NS New Castle District line, after train 143 had reported an emergency brake application around milepost CF27.0.
The derailed cars included two loads of butane and one of pulpwood. Werner said there were no leaks and no fire, but a hazardous material team has been called to oversee recovery of the loads.” Local residents were also reported to have been evacuated.
The collision has blocked North Gilmore Road in Fairfield, leading to a two-hour delay in the opening of Fairfield schools on Tuesday morning, Fox 19 reports.
The New Castle District line is a blend of former NKP and PRR trackage that runs from Fort Wayne to the Cincinnati suburb of Evendale, where it joins ithe former Conrail Dayton District line for the final leg to Cincinnati. Between Butler Street interlocking in Hamilton and Cincinnati, both NS and CSX Transportation use the line as part of a Directional Running Agreement, with trains of both railroads using NS trackage southbound and CSX trackage northbound. With crews working to clean up the damage of the collision, both railroads are currently using CSX’s former B&O trackage between Hamilton and Cincinnati.
— Updated Oct. 8 at 9:40 a.m. CDT to correct location, add additional information. Trains Magazine staff contributed to this report.
