Empty Freight Cars Derail Near NUMMI

By , FROM STAFF REPORTS

FREMONT — Nineteen empty auto transporters in a Union Pacific freight train derailed early Tuesday at the Warm Springs switching yard near the NUMMI plant, damaging more than 2,000 feet of track and blocking the crossing at Kato Road, officials said.

The freight cars went on the ground, but remained standing upright, when the crew used the engine brake instead of the train brake to stop the train, and the wheels on one of the front cars were pushed off the track, railroad spokesman John Bromley said. The crew was unaware anything was wrong, and when the train started again, that caused the other 18 cars to derail, he said. No injuries were reported.

The accident occurred between 4 and 5 a.m., but some crossings were blocked until 6:30 a.m. However, traffic in the area was light, according to police.

Union Pacific was placing preassembled track panels on the affected area to fix the damage, and the yard track was expected to be back in service by 10 a.m. today, Bromley said.

Passenger trains, which rarely use the line through Warm Springs, were not affected.