FEC freight train crash closes rail corridor
Two Florida East Coast Railway freight trains collided near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Tuesday, derailing more than 30 cars and forcing a temporary shutdown of an FEC rail line from Jacksonville to Miami.
There were no injuries or hazardous materials spilled in the midday collision, but the derailments created an extensive cleanup problem expected to keep the rail line shut down in South Florida well into Wednesday morning.
FEC spokesmen said the cause of the collision has not been determined. Authorities said a northbound train carrying 136 hopper cars of rock was traveling about 30 to 35 miles per hour when it glanced against the side of the train on the southbound track.
There were 32 derailed cars from the northbound train, which spilled rock and created most of the cleanup problem. There were also four intermodal cars with 11 containers derailed from the southbound train, reports said.
The Broward County Sheriff's Office confirmed there were no injuries and no hazardous materials involved; all the derailed cars were carrying either rock or mixed general cargo from the intermodal train.