A train derailment that occurred in Lower Saucon Township March 2 involved three trains, two of which derailed cars during the accident. (FILE PHOTO)
A significant step was taken toward understanding what ultimately caused a major train derailment to occur in Lower Saucon Township earlier this month with the release Wednesday of a preliminary report prepared by National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials. However, many questions regarding what led to the accident remain unanswered.
The derailment happened on the morning of March 2 at approximately 7:11 a.m., when an eastbound Norfolk Southern intermodal train collided with a NS train that was stopped on the track in front of it, adjacent to the township’s Steel City section.
According to the NTSB’s preliminary report, this collision caused three cars to derail onto the adjacent westbound main track.
“Less than a minute later, a second collision occurred when (NS) train 19GH501 struck the derailed equipment while traveling westbound on main track 1,” the report said. “As a result of the second collision, train 19GH501 derailed six railcars and two locomotives.”
The report noted that while three of the derailed cars on the westbound train “were placarded as hazardous materials tank cars” with one containing ethanol residue and two containing butane residue, the cars did not breach or release hazardous materials.
“The two derailed locomotives partially submerged in the Lehigh River and discharged locomotive diesel fuel into the water,” the report said. “Seven crewmembers were transported to a local hospital, treated for minor injuries and released.
“NS estimated damages to equipment and track to be about $2.5 million,” it said, noting that “at the time of the collisions, visibility conditions were daylight and overcast” and “the weather was 35°F with light rain.”
Other findings contained within the report include the following:
- The train that was stopped on the tracks had come to a halt “because of train traffic.”
- The eastbound train that struck the stopped train in front of it was traveling at approximately 13 mph and had “proceeded through a signal that required it to operate at restricted speed.”
- The westbound train that struck the derailed cars from the eastbound train less than a minute later “was not required to operate at restricted speed and was traveling about 22 mph at the time of the second collision,” which it noted was “below the maximum authorized speed” of 40 mph.
NTSB investigators arrived at the scene of the crash the same day it happened and conducted interviews; inspected locomotives and rail cars; tested and downloaded data from control and signal systems; and sent data from radio logs, event recorders and both outward- and inward-facing image recorders to the NTSB Vehicle Recorder Laboratory for analysis, the report stated.
Officials with the NTSB said their investigation into what caused the accident is ongoing and that future investigative work “will focus on NS rules, procedures and crew training related to train handling.”
The agency has said it could take up to two years for a final report on the accident to be issued.
Commenting on the release of the preliminary report, Lower Saucon Township Council president Priscilla deLeon said Wednesday that she is grateful for the work of the community’s first responders, who included numerous firefighters, police officers and other emergency personnel from the local and county levels.
Service on the lines where the derailment occurred was restored by late in the day on March 3.
First responders can be seen working next to a train that derailed into the Lehigh River at Steel City in Lower Saucon Township on March 2, 2024. The cause of the derailment remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, which this week released a preliminary report on the accident. (FILE PHOTO)
