City Reviews Report on 2024 Train Crash
By Hank Silverberg
CORRESPONDENT
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A report from the Federal Railroad Administration requested by Fredericksburg City Council and Mayor Kerry Devine on this past summer’s freight car derailment blames human error for the mishap.
According to the report, the July 20, 2024, accident occurred when five cars containing scrap metal were left on a sidetrack in the CSX Fredericksburg Yard without the brake system being properly secured.
The cars were on a slight grade and began rolling. They were derailed by a device designed to stop runaway cars. Five cars derailed, rolled over and collided with a large wall separating the tracks from the Cobblestone Square neighborhood.
There were no injuries, but the report says there was more than $105,000 worth of damage from the accident.
Since January of 2023, the FRA has conducted 20 safety inspections in Fredericksburg, covering 41 specified areas, including hazardous materials, power and equipment, operating practices, and the tracks.
The FRA report does not list any infractions. A spokesman for the FRA could not clarify for the Advance if any infractions had been found or adjudicated.
In its report, FRA says there were only two incidents in Fredericksburg in the last five years. The other one was in 2019 when an Amtrak train hit a tree.
Between January of 2019 and July 2024, according to the report, there were 65 train accidents in Virginia. One person died in Henrico County and 37 others were injured in other incidents.
Most of those incidents—63 of them—involved a collision with an automobile at a railroad crossing.
The report, issued late last year, was just posted on the city’s website this week. The city also continues to monitor tanks in the CSX rail yard.
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