WASHINGTON — Flooding from a nearby lake that weakened and washed out track structure was the probable cause of a 2019 Union Pacific derailment and fire in Fort Worth, Texas, the National Transportation Board said in a report released Thursday.
The April 24, 2019, incident saw 26 cars of a 98-train of ethanol derail at about 12:30 a.m.; three of those cars were breached, with several cars catching fire. A nearby outbuilding was destroyed and three horses were killed [see “Ethanol fire engulfs derailed cars …,” Trains News Wire, April 24, 2019].
The derailment occurred next to Echo Lake, which was filled from recent rains. The train’s crew told NTSB investigators water was pooling near the tracks and over the rails; investigators found water flow had undercut the track and washed away ballast, leaving the track unable to support the weight of the train.
The NTSB said a contributing factor was deferred maintenance of spillways at the lake, which was owned by the City of Fort Worth but maintained by Tarrant County. At the time of the derailment, just one of the lake’s three drainage pipes was functional.
Union Pacific spokeswoman Kristen South told the Associated Press the railroad had “no reason to believe that the spillway at Echo Lake, which is not railroad property, was not being properly maintained. … Had it been, water would not have streamed over the tracks, causing a washout and subsequent derailment.”
The NTSB report also listed the railroad’s “absence of dynamic weather reporting criteria” as a contributing factor.
