Cargo train derails in Clinton County
Seven agencies, including a hazmat team, responded to a train derailment Monday in Clinton County.
Sgt. Kyle Markus of the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office said first-responders received a call at 11:22 a.m. about a derailment of a Norfolk Southern cargo train between Albers and New Baden along Illinois 161.
No injuries were reported as of Monday afternoon, according to Markus.
The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, Clin-Clair Fire Department, New Baden Emergency Medical Services and police departments from Albers, New Baden and Trenton responded to the scene. Markus said they called a St. Clair County hazmat team as a precaution because one of the train cars may have had a leak.
Markus said the derailment was in a rural area.
In an interview at the scene Monday, Albers Police Chief Brian L. Vielweber estimated between 20 and 25 cars in the middle of the train were off the tracks. He said the clean-up process could take several days.
“We were advised that there wasn’t anything hazardous as far as health concerns so an evacuation did not take place at the direction of the railroad,” Vielweber said of the train’s contents. “I can confirm there was a few railroad cars that were carrying passenger vehicles. Those obviously are damaged severely. Other than that, I don’t know the exact contents of each train car.”
Vielweber said law enforcement agencies would work with Norfolk Southern railroad police to determine the cause of the derailment.
This story was originally published September 19, 2022 at 1:40 PM.
