WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report on the April 26 derailment of a BNSF Railway train near the Arizona-New Mexico state line — an incident that led to a breach of tank cars carrying propane and fire that closed Interstate 40.
No one was injured in the incident. Interstate 40 was closed for more than two days [see “I-40 fully reopens after BNSF derailment …,” Trains News Wire, April 28, 2024].
The NTSB investigation is focusing only on the performance of the DOT-112 tank cars and the response of emergency agencies. The Federal Railroad Administration is conducting the primary investigation.
The incident occurred about 12:37 p.m. and involved westbound Belen, N.M.-Phoenix manifest train H-BELPHX1-25, which consisted of three head-end locomotives, 97 cars, and a rear distributed power unit. Thirty-five cars derailed, including six cars of propane. Four of these were breached and caught fire; a fifth was exposed to the fire and released vapor through its pressure relief device. Along with the closure of I-40, 52 people were evacuated under an order covering a 2-mile radius from the event scene.
The ongoing NTSB investigation will focus on examination of recovered physical evidence, analysis of factors affecting tank-car performance, and the emergency response.
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