A CSX Corp. (CSX) crude train derailed in Lynchburg, Virginia , sparking a fire in at least three tank cars, spilling oil into a river and forcing a partial evacuation of the city’s downtown. No injuries were reported, and the fire was out within about three hours after today’s accident. About 15 tank cars came off the tracks as the train rolled through Virginia from Chicago, according to a statement from CSX, the largest carrier in the eastern U.S. Crude, once an almost-negligible cargo for North American railroads, has grabbed regulators’ attention after recent U.S. and Canadian crashes including the Quebec derailment that killed 47 people in July. Canada tightened tank-car standards this month, and the U.S. is studying whether to follow suit. The Federal Railroad Administration sent inspectors to Lynchburg. The train was en route to a so-called transloading facility where crude is transferred to barges, Chief Executive […]

Posted in: USA