Crude Oil Train Derails in Western Pennsylvania

A Norfolk Southern Corp. train carrying crude oil derailed in Vandergrift in western Pennsylvania on Thursday, the company confirmed.

There were as yet no reports of injuries or fire at the scene, after twenty-one tank cars came off the track near an industrial park, according to a local borough official.

The train, that was heading from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, was mainly carrying crude oil but included one car containing propane gas, the local official said.

The train crashed into one building in the industrial complex near the Kiskiminetas River, he said.

This is the latest in a string of crude oil train derailments, some fatal, that has prompted calls for more stringent rules regulating the shipment of crude by rail that has soared in recent years.

In the most serious incident, a train carrying Bakken oil from North Dakota derailed and exploded in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, killing 47 people and decimating much of the small town.

Norfolk Southern Corp’s subsidiary Norfolk Southern Railway Co operates approximately 20,000 miles of railroad in 22 states and the District of Columbia, according to the company’s website.

(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Dilts and Scott DiSavino in New York; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Edward McAllister)

Topics Energy Oil Gas Pennsylvania