NTSB: Rail Track Was to be Replaced Day After Virginia Crash

A piece of railroad track owned by CSX Corp. in Lynchburg, Va., was scheduled for replacement the day after a crude-oil train derailed and erupted in flames along the same stretch last year, according to federal investigators.

The National Transportation Safety Board released this week documents detailing its investigation into the April 30, 2014 derailment, which caused the evacuation of hundreds of downtown residents. The agency hasn't yet determined the cause of the crash and won't until it completes analysis of the findings and releases its final report, likely to be finished by the end of the year, a spokesman said.

The documents say the derailment occurred at a break in the track just inches from a repair made to the rail to temporarily strengthen it, part of a remedial fix made in January 2014.

The day before the derailment, a track inspection showed an internal flaw in the same stretch of rail, and the railroad had scheduled a 40-foot replacement piece for installment on May 1, 2014. "In addition, the roadmaster indicated that a production rail gang was scheduled to install new rail in the accident curve in about three weeks," the report said.

"Safety is CSX's highest priority and the company is committed to using the safest solutions available to deliver shipments to their intended destination," a spokesman said in a statement. He added that the railroad's safety and inspection standards frequently exceed federal requirements.

The accident was one of at least nine fiery oil-train derailments that have occurred in the U.S. and Canada since 2013, and one of the only to take place in a highly populated area. That derailment and others spurred the federal government to impose new safety rules on rail shipments of crude oil and other flammable liquids earlier this year.

In Lynchburg, the train was traveling at 24 miles an hour, slightly under the 25 mph speed limit at the time, according to the report. Seventeen out of 104 tank cars derailed, three went into the James River and one caught fire.

About 350 residents and 20 businesses were evacuated after the derailment, according to the report. CSX provided the NTSB with initial damage estimates of $1 million, including environmental cleanup.

Write to Laura Stevens at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 21, 2015 15:55 ET (19:55 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.