Five Kansas City Southern cars derailed from a railroad bridge onto a
highway below (Interstate 110). No one was injured but eight automobiles
were damaged by falling debris. Two hoppers and five chemical tankers
derailed and fell onto the highway -- all cars were empty.
The accident happened at 11 p.m. on February 12 -- all lanes of traffic
on the highway were finally cleared at 6:15 p.m. on February 13. The
Baton Rouge Metro Council tried to prevent these sorts of accidents from
happening when it voted to ban remote control operations five months
prior to the February 12 derailment.
"The reality is, this has given us a look at what could possibly
happen," said Baton Rouge Mayor Pro Tempore Lorri Burgess. "Can we
handle an evacuation of that sort? The Kansas City (Southern) Railroad
transports petrochemicals up and down our rail system every day. What
have they done to protect us?
"It's time for the federal government to pay attention to what we're
asking for. Look at the harmful situations the railroads are possibly
putting these communities in."
(Accident description and quotes taken from the February 14 online
edition of the Baton Rouge Advocate and a story published on television
station WBRZ's website on February 13.)
http://www.theadvocate.com/stories/021403/new_derails001.shtml
http://www.wbrz.com/stories/021303/new_localcritic.shtml
