July 17, 2023
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
A CSX freight train derailed near Stenton Avenue and Joshua Road in Whitemarsh Township just before 5 a.m. Monday, police say.
A freight train derailed in Whitemarsh Township on Monday morning, causing road closures and evacuations of some residents in the Montgomery County community just outside of Philadelphia, police said.
The 40-car CSX train derailed near Joshua and Flourtown roads around 4:50 a.m., police said. Joshua Road has been closed to traffic between Stenton Avenue and Flourtown Road since 5 a.m. At least 16 train cars fell off the tracks and some tankers appeared to have smashed into each other, NBC10 reported.
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Whitemarsh Township Police said silicone pellets spilled from some of the train cars. The pellets pose no hazard to the community. No injuries have been reported. The cause of the derailment remains under investigation, but CSX said it may have been weather-related.
Preliminary reports had been that one of the train cars that derailed contained hazardous materials, but CSX said none of those materials have spilled. These include one car containing tetrachloroethylene, a degreasing and dry cleaning agent that is non-flammable but can be toxic, as well as five cars containing urea, a liquid fertilizer. Two of the train cars were empty.
During a press briefing on Monday morning, officials from Whitemarsh Township said that they could not speak to what these materials were being used for because they do not know who the intended recipient was. Several recovery teams and environmental groups have been dispatched to the site for clean-up purposes and to get the freight line back up and running.
A video shared by 6ABC captured footage of some of the derailed train cars and tankers, some of which are pointed away from the mangled train tracks and one that is on its side.
Residents were evacuated from about a dozen homes and several businesses near the 5000 block of Camburn Road, out of precaution, and officials said Monday morning they do not believe additional evacuations will be necessary.
Hazmat teams were called to the scene shortly after 5 a.m., along with personnel from Montgomery County's Department of Public Safety and CSX and Norfolk Southern officials. Norfolk Souther owns the section of train tracks where the train derailed.
The derailment site sits beside a largely residential area of Whitemarsh Township, a municipality just over four miles away from Chestnut Hill that includes communities like Barren Hill, Lafayette Hill, Spring Mill and portions of Plymouth Meeting, Miquon and Fort Washington.
There is a small body of water near the derailment site that drains out into the Wissahickon Creek, though officials are working to ensure that the clean-up process does not lead any of the exposed pellets into the water, despite it not being hazardous. The train cars containing urea and tetrachloroethylene still need to be picked up carefully in order to ensure that there are no future spills, officials said.
Gov. Josh Shapiro tweeted on Monday morning that his office is monitoring the situation in Whitemarsh Township and will be assisting first responders.
This story is developing. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
