Runaway car on short line strikes Norfolk Southern train, causing derailment in Michigan

By Trains Staff | August 2, 2024

Ten cars on NS train derail; leaking tank car briefly leads to shelter-in-place order

Derailed freight cars at crossing — 10 cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed Friday in Adrian, Mich., when struck by a car moving on a short line. Screen shot from WTVG video

ADRIAN, Mich. — A runaway freight car from a short line struck a Norfolk Southern train this morning in Adrian, derailing 10 cars of the NS train, the Class I railroad told a local TV station.

The incident occurred at about 8 a.m. at a crossing of the NS and the Adrian & Blissfield railroad. NS, in a statement to WTVG-TV, said its train “was occupying a crossing … when a railcar from another railroad improperly entered the crossing and struck the Norfolk Southern train, causing 10 railcars from the Norfolk Southern train and the short line’s railcar to derail.” The collision led to a leak of pressurized carbon dioxide from a tank car on the short line’s tracks, NS said; that venting briefly led to a shelter-in-place order in the vicinity of the derailment.

The Adrian & Blissfield declined comment to the station.

Officials said no one was injured and the carbon dioxide leak posed no threat to the community. NS said it was working with local first responders and had teams on site working to clear the scene.

The City of Adrian said in a news release this evening that the tank car had been righted and streets were expected to be reopened by 7:30 p.m. Police and fire agencies were concluding operations at the scene, while railroad crews asked thart residents stay out of the area through the weekend while cleanup work continues.

Adrian is approximately 30 miles northwest of Toledo, Ohio, and 60 miles southwest of downtown Detroit.