NTSB concludes subgrade fill failure caused CSX derailment in 2018
Written by David C. Lester, Editor-in-ChiefA southbound CSX freight train derailed in Alexandria, Va. on May 19, 2018. The derailment caused significant damage to a bridge overpass, which collapsed at the approaching abutment wall. The bridge, along with 8 of 31 derailed cars, fell on Norfolk Southern tracks below.
The National Transportation Safety Board has concluded that the probable cause of this accident “was a subgrade fill failure of the track structure, which displaced a large area of ballast under the low rail of the track . . .resulting in a cross-level deviation of the track significant enough to allow a wheel climb derailment.”
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