NTSB identifies 2009 ethanol derailment cause

US NTSB has determined that the July 2009 derailment of a CN ethanol train in Cherry Valley, Illinois was caused by a track washout. Although the washout had been discovered an hour before the incident, CN’s emergency communication procedures proved inadequate. As a result of the derailment and subsequent fire, one person in a vehicle stopped at a nearby grade crossing was fatally injured and seven others were hurt. “There were multiple points where this catastrophe could have been averted, but it was not,” says NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman.

NTSB has subsequently issued a number of safety recommendations, which will be examined in more detail in the March issue of HCB. More detail on the investigation can be found here.