Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Track near Fort Sumner has another derailment

Under high winds, a train derailed Wednesday afternoon near Fort Sumner in the same location a BNSF train was knocked off the track almost four weeks before.

CMI correspondent photo: Scot Stinnett

Workers with BNSF Railways work following aWednesday afternoon derailment at the Pecos River Railroad Bridge near Fort Sumner.

This BNSF train, carrying grain cars with corn, derailed after 3:30 p.m. About two dozen cars were derailed, with corn spilled along the track embankment still littered with cargo from the previous derailment.

BNSF Railroad spokesman Joe Faust said no one was injured and nothing hazardous was spilled in the derailment.

He also said the cause remains under investigation and had no estimate on the time needed to clean it up.

Cannon Air Force Base reported an average wind speed of 29 mph Wednesday with a high gust of 53 mph, according to weatherbug.com.

The train was en route from Belen to Clovis, Faust said. With about 80 trains using the line a day, it is one of BNSF's main routes.

The area on the north end of the bridge is the only spot on the line from Belen to Amarillo where a single track exists, meaning no traffic can get through in either direction until repairs are made.

"It's amazing," said De Baca County Commission Chairman Adolfo Lucero, "that two train wrecks would happen in so short a time. It hasn't caused us any problems, but it's probably causing a bottleneck for the railroad."

On March 23, 16 rail cars were toppled about 5 p.m. due to high winds that peaked at more than 60 mph, according to the National Weather Service. In all, 32 shipping containers fell off the tracks, according to Faust. He said each of the 16 rail cars carried two containers.

The line was reopened about 30 hours after that derailment.

 
 
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