Freight Train Derails Near Merritt Dr.; No Injuries

By MICHELLE JARBOE

GREENSBORO — Eleven cars of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed Monday night, disrupting travel on the tracks and surrounding roads.

A train traveling from Roanoke, Va., to Linwood, in Davidson County, halted near Merritt Drive and Patterson Street when the cars tipped over or went off the track about 8:15 p.m. No injuries were reported.

As of press time, officials with Norfolk Southern wouldnt speculate on what might have caused the derailment, which backed up traffic on tracks also used by Amtrak lines.

But Amtrak workers at the downtown Depot werent aware of the derailment until after 11 p.m., and they didnt know whether Norfolk Southerns mishap would affect travel.

Amtrak does use that track, Robin Chapman, spokesman for Norfolk Southern, said late Monday night. It will affect Amtrak traffic if its not cleared up.

A train on Amtraks north-south Crescent route was scheduled to head through Greensboro at 12:22 a.m. today, according to Amtraks Web site.

Neither Chapman nor local Amtrak employees knew how the derailment might affect that route.

Police, fire and emergency officials responded to the incident, with six fire units early on the scene, said David Lindsay, battalion chief for the Greensboro Fire Department.

The part that derailed was just a fraction of a train with three locomotives and more than 80 cars.

The 11 tipped cars were filled with grain and possibly soybeans and steel, Chapman said.

No area residents were evacuated, but police blocked off a portion of Merritt and redirected traffic. Lindsay said the street likely would reopen today.

Chapman said Norfolk Southern is investigating the cause of the wreck. He expected the wreck to be cleared this afternoon.

We have crews coming in with cranes that will lift the rail cars and put them back on the track or haul them away, and the track will be repaired, if it needs repair, which it usually does if there is a derailment, he said.

Though he didnt know how damaged the tracks were, he said its likely Norfolk Southern will need to make repairs.

We will have to hold trains until we get that line back in service, he said.

Contact Michelle Jarboeat 373-7075 or mjarboe@news-record.com