WOODWARD, Okla. — Eighteen cars of a BNSF train derailed Thursday, July 11, in downtown Woodward, briefly leading to an evacuation order until it was determined the contents of the train posed no public safety hazard.
KOCO-TV reports BNSF said in a statement that the derailment occurred about 5:30 p.m. and the cars involved carried liquid asphalt and soybean oil. No injuries were reported and the cause is under investigation. A BNSF customer service advisory indicates both main lines have been affected and no estimated time for reopening has been determined.
Residents were evacuated within a three-block perimeter of the incident near 6th and Main streets in downtown Woodward, according to the Woodward County Emergency Management agency. The evacuation order was lifted shortly after 7 p.m.
Woodward is on BNSF’s Panhandle Subdivision, which runs between Amarillo, Texas, and Wellington, Kan. It is about 170 miles northeast of Amarillo, and 125 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.
Woodward has two tracks going through town with some branches going off of it at some spots, but the “two main lines” are where the trains move through town.
main trains?? did you mean both main rail lines?
Yup. Little brain freeze there. Fixed.