​​This information is preliminary and subject to change.

​On March 18, 2026, about 4:50 a.m. local time, Union Pacific Railroad (UP) train MEWEG-18 derailed 24 mixed-freight railcars on the Glidden Subdivision near Richmond, Texas. The derailed equipment included 2 empty railcars, 4 railcars carrying nonhazardous materials, and 18 tank cars carrying hazardous materials. Ten of the derailed railcars released materials, including seven breached (punctured or torn) tank cars that collectively released about 120,000 gallons of ethanol, a hazardous material.[1] The released materials were contained on site and did not impact waterways or the public.[2]  UP estimated damages to be about $3.6 million.[3] No injuries were reported. Visibility conditions at the time of the derailment were clear; the weather was 45°F with no precipitation.

​The train was westbound from Houston, Texas, to Eagle Pass, Texas, and consisted of 4 locomotives (3 head end and 1 mid-train distributed power unit), 97 loaded railcars, and 50 empty railcars, weighing about 14,470 tons and measuring about 10,295 feet long. The train crew was comprised of an engineer, a conductor, and a conductor pilot.[4] UP dispatch in Spring, Texas, coordinated the train movements. The train was equipped with a positive train control system and an energy management system, which were engaged at the time of the accident.[5] Shortly before the derailment, the train was traveling about 35 mph on main track 1 when it experienced an undesired emergency braking application, meaning the crew did not initiate the emergency brake application.[6]

​All aspects of the derailment remain under investigation while the National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause with the intent to issue safety recommendations to prevent similar events.

Parties to the investigation include: 

• the Federal Railroad Administration; 
• the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration; 
• the Texas Department of Transportation; 
• UP; 
• the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen; 
• the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes; and 
• the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.[7]​
  

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[1] (a) Railcars 3 through 26, located behind the lead locomotives, derailed. (b) The derailed nonhazardous-materials railcars included 1 railcar carrying syrup, which breached and released materials, and 3 railcars carrying malt, 2 of which breached and released materials. The derailed hazardous materials railcars included 2 tank cars carrying liquified petroleum gas, which did not breach or release materials, and 16 tank cars carrying ethanol, 7 of which breached and released materials. (c) As of this report, authorities have recovered (physically collected and removed from the environment) about 95,000 gallons of ethanol; the remaining ethanol is expected to be recovered or dissipated into the atmosphere. (d​) The breached tank cars included two DOT-117J tank cars and five DOT-117R tank cars. (e) The train also included tank cars carrying phosphoric acid and hexane, both hazardous materials; these tank cars did not derail, breach, or release hazardous materials.