Employees of Hulcher Services work Tuesday on a damaged rail car that derailed Monday along Greene Road in Wales. Four rail cars came off the tracks, but only one car was damaged. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
WALES — The federal Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration will not investigate a four-car derailment Monday afternoon at Leeds Junction, administration spokesman William Wong said Tuesday morning.
Federal accident and incident reporting regulations require train owners to submit a report within 30 days after the month in which an incident occurs, he said.
“After receipt and validation, these reporting forms are posted online three months later to our Safety Data website,” Wong said.
This means CSX Corp.’s report is due May 1 at the latest and the official report Aug. 1.
Workers were at the scene Tuesday clearing the scene.
Sheriee Bowman, manager of media relations for CSX Corp., said Monday evening that no injuries were reported, none of the limestone slurry nonhazardous cargo spilled and there was no risk to the public.
Officials said the CSX train had a conductor and operator on board.
While they did not release how many cars were being transported, the four that derailed did not overturn.
“CSX appreciates the patience of our neighbors as we work as quickly as possible to restore this area,” Bowman said.
Employees of Hulcher Services work Tuesday on a damaged rail car that derailed Monday along Greene Road in Wales. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
The cause of the derailment has not been determined.
The last one in Androscoggin County happened a short distance north in 2013 on the Leeds-Wayne border, according to a report by the Federal Railroad Administration. It was caused by the tracks.
Though both accidents turned out to be minor, it was likely difficult Monday for Mainers not to think about the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern Ohio derailment.
The Federal Railroad Administration Safety Data report shows over the past 10 years, 27 of the 52 accidents in Maine have been attributed to tracks and seven to rail equipment — well over half indicating infrastructure issues.
Last year, two injuries were reported in rail accidents, both in Piscataquis County, according to Federal Railroad Administration reports.
There were eight total accidents resulting in five derailments, two due to tracks, and damage was just over $1.6 million, according to the report. The two Piscataquis County accidents accounted for about $1.4 million of that total.
Total of damage over the past 10 years is $6.15 million with the costliest year, aside from 2022, in 2019 when more than $1.5 million in damage was reported. That year, two accidents in Penobscot County cost around $1.1 million.
No deaths and only two injuries have been reported over that time, according to the administration report.
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