A freight train derailment at Quantico shut down two railroad tracks this afternoon, blocking all train traffic and prolonging the evening commute for hundreds of Fredericksburg area residents riding Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express.
Seven railcars carrying coal on a southbound 79-car CSX Corp. freight train with two locomotives derailed a half-mile south of the Quantico train station, said CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan.
No injuries were reported.
The cause of the derailment is under investigation, Sullivan said.
He could not comment on whether today’s heat , which reached into the upper 90s, was a factor.
The freight train was traveling from Cumberland, Md., to Newport News. Coal spilled out of the derailed cars.
“We’ve got people on the way to clean it up,” Sullivan said this evening.
CSX couldn’t say how long the clean-up would take, the extent of the damage, or how long the tracks would be closed.
The incident affected 2,300 Amtrak passengers riding northbound and southbound trains through Virginia, including the Auto Train to Florida. Several thousand VRE passengers in the Fredericksburg area were also affected.
For updates on Friday morning service, VRE urged Fredericksburg Line passengers to check vre.org and
Train Talk e-mail bulletins.
When the derailment occurred around 3 p.m., only one of seven evening VRE trains on the Fredericksburg Line had gotten beyond Quantico. It was Train 301, which departs Union Station at 12:55 p.m.
Manassas Line VRE trains were not affected. Initially, VRE was told by CSX it could not move evening trains past Franconia–Springfield, said Mark Roeber, VRE’s manager of government relations and public affairs.
VRE arranged buses to pick passengers up at Franconia–Springfield, where there was a Metro station, shelter from the weather as thunderstorms bore down, and quick access to High Occupancy Vehicle lanes on Interstate 95, Roeber said. VRE also opened its Metro option, allowing VRE passengers to show Metro personnel
VRE tickets and gain free access to the system. After that decision was made, VRE was told by CSX it could run trains as far south as Rippon, Roeber said. VRE ran trains to Rippon, but continued busing passengers from Franconia-Springfield to station parking lots at Quantico, Brooke and Leeland Road in Stafford, and Fredericksburg.
It had 17 buses making runs south, and looping back to collect later riders after the first run. Also, downed trees and debris falling on the tracks following thunderstorms in Northern Virginia delayed evening trains.
Amtrak experienced similar problems. Amtrak’s Auto Train, which departs from Lorton and carries passengers and their vehicles to Orlando, had not departed by early evening. Amtrak was removing cars from the train in case passengers wanted to drive to Florida overnight, said Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero.
Amtrak had to call buses up from North Carolina to transport passengers stopped at stations in the Richmond area.
There was a shortage of buses in the Washington area due to the National Scout Jamboree, Romero said. Plus, heavy traffic on I–95 slowed by severe thunderstorms delayed ground transportation.
“Perfect storm,” Romero said.
Amtrak did not have any trains stranded between stations as a result of the derailment, so riders could de-train and call for a ride from family or friends if they didn’t want to wait for the Amtrak bus, Romero said.
For updates on Amtrak travel Friday, passengers should call 800/USA-RAIL and press “0” to speak with a Amtrak representative rather than rely on its automated system or website, she said.
“The situation is so fluid, it changes too quickly,”