FELA Lawyer News Blog

ROBARDS, KY – A CSX freight train derailed in Robards, KY on Sunday, July 25, 2010 just off of Eakins Street. The last car of the train was a tanker car and derailed while the train was switching tracks. The tanker remained upright and none of the cars tipped over.

Robards is located in Henderson County, Kentucky in the northeastern part of the state about 216 miles southwest of Lexington, about 96 miles northwest of Bowling Green, about 139 miles northwest of Glasgow and about 28 miles southwest of Owensboro.

At first there was some concern that hazardous material may be involved, because it was thought that the tanker car contained used motor oil, but it turned out that the car was mostly empty when the car derailed.

Fortunately, no one appears to have been injured in the incident.

According to an article and video at the Fox 7 News WTVW website, this was the fourth time that a train has jumped the tracks in the last 6 months along a 50 mile stretch of track that has been almost completely replaced in less than a year.

The Federal Railroad Administration has been investigating the recent string of derailments and has already issued CSX two track standard violations for buckled track.

CSX is investigating the incident to determine the cause of the derailment. Crews were at the scene in Robards going up and down the tracks, checking to see if buckling was the case in this recent incident.

In the Fox 7 News video there is an interview with City Commissioner David Sellers, who is a long time resident in Robards. He has expressed concerns and says that town residents wonder if something went wrong with last years repairs. He says that it is hard for people to understand that with a kind of an overhaul of the tracks why there would be so many derailments.

This latest derailment involved only one empty car at the end of the train but Sellers is concerned that the town may not be so lucky in the future.

Sellers said that if something did happen where there were some chemicals or an unsafe cargo that they would have to look to their emergency services to evacuate a lot of people in town and make it safe again.

Henderson County Judge Executive, Sandy Watkins hopes to meet with CSX officials and Henderson County Emergency Management Agency in the near future to discuss the situation.

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Published by FELA lawyer Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP

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