CSX Derailment Sends 4,000 Gallons Of Diesel & 4,000 Tons Of Coal Into Remote Chickahominy River Wetlands

[hatrack]

A train derailment last Saturday dumped coal and diesel fuel into wetlands near the Chickahimony River in Virginia, and nearby residents and environmentalists worry that the contaminants could flow into the waterway. The CSX train travelling from Hinton, West Virginia, to Newport, Virginia, derailed about 30 minutes past Richmond in New Kent County, sending 53 cars full of coal and two engines with diesel fuel to within about 400 feet of the river, one of several tributaries feeding into the James River that flows into the Chesapeake Bay.

“There were no injuries as a result of the incident and no hazardous materials being transported by the cars involved and no danger to the surrounding community,” the company said in a statement on Monday. But the 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel and about 4,000 tons of coal that spilled into wetlands between the tracks and the river have proven difficult for environmental personnel to access to cleanup. Fencing, booms and “turbidity curtains” were deployed to keep the diesel fuel and coal from reaching the river.

According to John Giese, a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality spokesperson, “containment and cleanup of spilled diesel fuel began shortly after the derailment.” That includes using two booms to prevent any diesel from entering the river and using sorbent materials to collect diesel that is on any water surfaces, Giese said.

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Dunlap of the James River Association said the site of the crash is in the top 3.5 percent of Virginia lands for ecological core value, according to information the association has received from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Parts of the river downstream have protected lands home to freshwater mussels, underwater grasses and a nursery habitat for migratory fish. The James River Association recently released its biannual State of the James River health report card, grading the James River a B. “The coal train spill in the Chickahominy is yet another reminder that accidents like this can threaten river health and some of our most indispensable natural resources in the Commonwealth, and that continued investment in and maintenance of our infrastructure are essential prevention tools,” Dunlap said. “In the coming days and weeks, we will continue to closely monitor the situation and work with partners to assess the damage and ensure appropriate followup actions are taken.”

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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31102025/csx-train-derailment-in-virginia-puts-chickahominy-river-at-risk/

[Dave Bowman]

1. Are they doing this on purpose dammit? Incredible display of incompetence and stupidity. 😡

[Gore1FL]

2. Former railroader, here.

Lots of things can cause derailments. Incompetence is certainly one of those. It can be wind, track problems, wheel problems, etc. The equipment is inspected, but things happen all of the time; it comes with the territory. Moving tons of equipment on thousands of miles of infrastructure is messy. The issues we hear about usually are the big ones, like this. Train crews do carry with them information regarding the HazMat on board and the response details when something happens. They usually are able to do a pretty job containing such events.

My concerns are related to the diminishing crew sizes to handle situations like this when they occur.