The 2015 Tennessee train derailment occurred on July 2, 2015. A CSX Transportation train derailed at

Maryville, Tennessee Maryville is a city in and the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee, and is a suburb of Knoxville. Its population was 31,907 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area and a short distance from popular tourist de ...

. The train was carrying toxic chemicals, leading to an evacuation of over 5,000 people.

Accident

On July 2, 2015, a CSX Transportation freight train carrying

hazardous materials Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllab ...

derailed at

. The train was traveling from

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

, to

Waycross, Georgia Waycross is the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Ware County in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 14,725 at the 2010 Census and dropped to 13,942 in the 2020 census. Waycross includes two historic districts (Downtown ...

. It comprised two locomotives and 57 freight cars, at least two of which were carrying

acrylonitrile Acrylonitrile is an organic compound with the formula and the structure . It is a colorless, volatile liquid although commercial samples can be yellow due to impurities. It has a pungent odor of garlic or onions. In terms of its molecula ...

. Other railcars in the consist were carrying LPG. Three of the railcars were reported to have caught fire. An evacuation of all within a radius was ordered. The evacuation zone was later extended to , affecting over 5,000 people. Those evacuated were offered accommodation at the Heritage High School, where

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

personnel provided assistance, or at the Foothills Mall. Roads closed included Highway 321. Fifty-two people were injured by inhaling fumes from the chemicals on the train. Twenty-five of them, including seven police officers, were hospitalized at the Blount Memorial Hospital, Maryville. CSX said it was helping residents find lodging. They also said there were at least three cars carrying the chemical, although only one was burning.

Investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board has not opened an investigation into the accident, although that option remains open to them. The FRA lists a report from CSX stating that the cause of the accident was an overheated journal or roller bearing. It also states the number of injured as 197 and total damages as $272,000.

References

{{2015 railway accidents

Train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Accidents and incidents involving CSX Transportation

Railway accidents and incidents in Tennessee

Derailments in the United States