On January 5, 2005, about 3:04 a.m., southbound CSX Transportation (CSX) freight train Q231-01 derailed its lead locomotive and six of its cars at CSX’s Eagle Tunnel No. 3 near Glencoe, Kentucky. The train was operating about 7 mph on a single main track when it struck debris from the collapse of a section of the tunnel. The engineer had placed the train into emergency braking about 6 seconds before the impact. The engineer and the conductor sustained minor injuries during the derailment. The property damage was about $185,000.
We determined that the probable cause of the January 5, 2005, train derailment near Glencoe, Kentucky, was the collapse of Eagle Tunnel No. 3 due to CSX Transportation’s failure to repair the previously identified deteriorating section of the tunnel.
