Freight Train Derails in Pennsylvania, Prompting Evacuation Orders

A freight train derailment in the US state of Pennsylvania triggered a major emergency response on Tuesday, with residents briefly ordered to evacuate or shelter in place over fears that hazardous materials may have leaked from overturned rail cars.

The CSX train derailed in Bensalem Township, outside Philadelphia, at around 2pm local time near East Bristol Road and Grove Avenue, close to the Neshaminy Falls train station, according to local officials and media reports. Videos from the scene showed multiple rail cars off the tracks, with some lying on their sides as emergency crews sealed off the area.

Police, firefighters, medics and hazardous materials teams were dispatched to the scene, while nearby residents were told to either leave the area or remain indoors as a precaution. Roads around the derailment were also closed.

Bensalem Public Safety Director William McVey said the emergency response was launched out of caution because some of the derailed cars were believed to be carrying potentially hazardous materials.

Officials later lifted both the evacuation and shelter-in-place orders after hazmat crews determined that no dangerous materials had leaked from the cars and that there was no threat to the public.

CSX said it was investigating the cause of the derailment. The company operates one of the largest freight rail networks in the US, with around 20,000 miles of track across the eastern part of the country.

The incident comes amid continued scrutiny of rail safety in the US following a series of high-profile freight derailments involving hazardous materials in recent years, including the February 3, 2023, disaster in Ohio. In that incident, a freight train carrying toxic chemicals derailed near the village of East Palestine, spilling hazardous contents into a nearby waterway, while five tankers containing vinyl chloride were deliberately ignited in a controlled burn, sending a toxic plume over the town.