Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Safety Headquarters Assigned Accident Investigation Report HQ-2007-12, Kansas City Southern Railway Co. (KCS), Hattiesburg, Mississippi, March 8, 2007

摘要

On March 8, 2007, at 8:31 a.m. Central Standard Time (CST) southbound Kansas City Southern (KCS) freight Train LGP10108 derailed at milepost (MP) 63.8 on the Southeastern Division, Gulfport Subdivision in Hattiesburg, Mississippi (MS). The train crew consisted of an engineer, conductor, and brakeman. They reported for duty on March 8, 2007, at 6 a.m. in Hattiesburg. Their train consisted of four locomotives, 54 loads, four empty cars, weighed 6,600 tons and was 3,418 ft. in length. Train LGP10108 was en route to Gulfport, MS. The speed limit for the Gulfport Subdivision is 25 miles per hour (mph), but at MP 63.8 a 10 mph speed restriction was in effect, per track bulletin No. 923. Train LGP10108 was traveling at a recorded speed of 11 mph prior to the derailment. At 8:31 a.m., the train traversed MP 63.8 and the crew felt a surge in the locomotive shortly before an unintended emergency brake application occurred. After the train stopped, the train crew noticed the fifth car behind the trailing locomotive was derailed and could see yellow smoke rising from a car further back in their train. The engineer notified the KCS train dispatcher, and KCS notified local police and emergency authorities. The first responders issued an evacuation ordered for about a mile and a half radius of the derailment site. At 10:30 a.m. the United States Environmental Services (USES) arrived on the scene and inspected the train. They found 11 cars derailed with two tank cars ruptured releasing sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid. There were no injuries to the KCS train crew. Two USES employees and three citizens exposed to hydrochloric acid were treated and released from the local hospital. Rail equipment damage is $163,520 and track damage is $35,874. At the time of the derailment, it was daylight and clear with a slight breeze. The temperature was 58F. The probable cause of the accident is the first broken rail from the 80% detail fracture and a contributing cause of the 20% detail fracture causing a 33 inch piece of rail to roll out of the track.