Tempe, Union Pacific reach settlement involving derailment, bridge collapse

Written by RT&S Staff
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The Union Pacific derailment in Tempe Town Lake caused extensive damage to the rail bridge.

The city of Tempe, Ariz., and Union Pacific have come to terms on a lawsuit settlement that involved a derailment in Tempe Town Lake in 2020.

Union Pacific has agreed to pay about half a million dollars for the cost of the accident incurred by Tempe Town Lake.

The derailment happened on July 29 and caused the bridge the train was crossing to partially collapse. Three tank cars, two containing cyclohexanone, dropped onto a park below. Eight of the 10 railcars that left the tracks caught on fire. There were no injuries reported.

Union Pacific demolished a 150-ft section of the bridge that collapsed and has since rebuilt the piece.

According to an NTSB preliminary report, one of the tank cars that fell released 2,201 gal of cyclohexanone. The wooden trestle of the rail bridge was extensively damaged where it abutted the concrete pier supporting the first steel superstructure. Union Pacific estimated it would cost up to $10 million to make repairs following the derailment.

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