State, feds investigating CSX derailment outside Albany

Federal and state investigators are looking into what caused 18 cars of a freight train to derail Wednesday night at a rail yard in the Albany area.

The derailment happened at CSX's Selkirk Yard, which connects to the rail line that passes through four of Rockland's five towns.

Volume on the River Line has increased significantly in recent years, spurred by the rapid growth of domestic oil production in the Midwest. That has raised concerns among residents and first responders because volatile Bakken crude oil is being hauled in tank cars that are old and vulnerable.

CSX said four of 18 cars involved contained hazardous materials, including two with propane, one with acid and the last with a residue of a recent shipment of a chemical herbicide. All four of the cars remained upright and did not leak or spill their contents.

There were no injuries, CSX spokesman Rob Doolittle said.

The derailment occurred at 7:41 p.m. and CSX reported it to the state Department of Transportation at 8:23 p.m., "within the required one hour window," DOT spokesman Beau Duffy said. The state earlier this year fined CSX $10,000 for failing to report two upstate derailments in a timely manner.

The DOT and Federal Railroad Administration are investigating the cause of the accident.

According to a preliminary assessment, investigators believe a portable safety device was mistakenly left on the track where repairs had been made earlier. An operator was moving the cars at low speed with a remote controlled locomotive onto that section of track when they ran into the device, known as a derailer, pushing them off the tracks, a DOT release stated.

"Investigators believe the remote control operator was initially unaware of what was happening and continued to move the cars down the track, causing more to derail," the release stated.

CSX crews and contractors were still working to remove the cars but Doolittle said the incident had not affected operations outside of the rail yard.

Earlier this month, a 121-car CSX train crashed into a car just north of Bear Mountain. The train didn't leave the tracks or spill its contents.

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