Oil Train That Derailed, Exploded in West Virginia Was Traveling Under Speed Limit, Official Says

By Kris Maher 

The crude-oil train that detailed and exploded in West Virginia on Monday was traveling well below the track's speed limit, according to an onboard recording system, a federal official said Thursday.

Sarah Feinberg, acting head of the Federal Railroad Administration, said the CSX Corp. train that derailed near Mount Carbon, W.Va., was going 33 miles an hour in a 50 mph zone.

The cause of the derailment remains under investigation, and Ms. Feinberg said investigators would look at the condition of the rails, tanker car wheels and other factors that could have contributed to the accident. Investigators have so far examined outward-facing video footage from the train, as well as information from a data-recording device on the locomotive.

"The data we're able to glean from it is incredibly useful, but we're very early in the investigation," said Ms. Feinberg. "The reality is we really need to make some progress at the scene. We've still got some fires burning."

The train was hauling 107 tank cars of crude oil from North Dakota to Yorktown, Va., when 26 cars derailed, with 19 eventually catching fire and several exploding and sending fireballs into the sky. One nearby home burned to the ground, and one person was treated for possible respiratory problems before being released.

Fires at the site, along a creek that flows beside the Kanawha River about 30 miles from the state capital of Charleston, have kept investigators from examining the scene thoroughly. One fire continued to smolder Thursday, said Gary Sease, a spokesman for CSX.

Yet Mr. Sease said company crews on Thursday were finally able to begin to move closer to pump off the remaining oil from the damaged cars. That oil will be removed via trucks to a temporary storage site before being disposed of, he said.

Each tanker car carried 29,500 gallons of oil. But it isn't yet clear how much leaked from the ruptured cars. "The closer work today as part of the oil-transfer process will enable us to make an estimate of the lost product," Mr. Sease said.

Mr. Sease said the company couldn't say yet when the track would reopen.

On Wednesday, two restaurants filed a lawsuit in Fayette County court against CSX and West Virginia American Water, which shut a water system for 2,000 customers as a precaution after the derailment.

The plaintiffs, who are seeking class-action status, allege that they suffered economic damages and inconvenience as a result of the water interruption, the evacuations and lost business.

"It was a major disruption for thousands of people," said Tim Bailey, an attorney for the plaintiffs.

Mr. Sease and a spokeswoman for the water company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

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