WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report on the April 26 derailment of a BNSF Railway train near the Arizona-New Mexico state line — an incident that led to a breach of tank cars carrying propane and fire that closed Interstate 40.
No one was injured in the incident. Interstate 40 was closed for more than two days [see “I-40 fully reopens after BNSF derailment …,” Trains News Wire, April 28, 2024].
The NTSB investigation is focusing only on the performance of the DOT-112 tank cars and the response of emergency agencies. The Federal Railroad Administration is conducting the primary investigation.
The incident occurred about 12:37 p.m. and involved westbound Belen, N.M.-Phoenix manifest train H-BELPHX1-25, which consisted of three head-end locomotives, 97 cars, and a rear distributed power unit. Thirty-five cars derailed, including six cars of propane. Four of these were breached and caught fire; a fifth was exposed to the fire and released vapor through its pressure relief device. Along with the closure of I-40, 52 people were evacuated under an order covering a 2-mile radius from the event scene.
The ongoing NTSB investigation will focus on examination of recovered physical evidence, analysis of factors affecting tank-car performance, and the emergency response.
How long was the rail line closed to train traffic?
From Friday afternoon until Sunday night. From the BNSF media report:
“On Friday, April 26, 2024 at approximately 01:42 P.M. CDT, we received a preliminary report of a train derailment near Lupton, AZ which has affected the main track. Lupton, AZ is approximately 22 miles southwest of Gallup, NM. BNSF personnel responded and assessed the derailment site. The main track two opened on Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 06:30 P.M. CDT. Main track one opened on Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 09:45 P.M. CDT.”
The track couldn’t be cleared until firefighters put out the fire. That didn’t happen immediately due to the possibility of another explosion of the two (of six) remaining propane cars who were not breached by the derailment.
A dashcam video from a truck on I-40 shows the derailment and propane cars explosion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jNGjWfU7r0