VIERA, Fla. – Authorities, including federal transportation investigators, were working to determine what caused a freight train hauling non-hazardous cargo to derail Sunday morning, sending a locomotive engine and four rail cars off the tracks.
Neither the train conductor nor the engineer, who were aboard the 57-car train at the time, were injured, News 6 partner Florida Today reported.
The National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency that investigates railroad, aviation and other transportation-related incidents,was scheduled to look over the sight of the derailment and to inspect the railroad tracks, which run parallel to U.S. 1. A preliminary cause has not been issued.
The incident happened about 5:20 a.m. on the tracks about 150 yards south of the intersection of Viera Boulevard and U.S. 1, a commercial area not far from Clayton’s Crab Company fish market. At least one Brevard County Fire Rescue firefighter who lives in the area heard the crash when it happened, officials reported. Other residents in the nearby area also reported hearing a loud “bang.” The train, which departed from Miami, was headed toward Jacksonville with unidentified cargo.
“It had two engines … the second engine derailed and ended up on its side on the right side of the track and four other cars on the other side,” said Don Walker, spokesman for Brevard County Fire Rescue. “It was going about 25 mph.”
The lead locomotive engine remained on the track.
Train derails in Rockledge US 1 video Craig Rubadoux, FLORIDA TODAY Posted Dec. 20, 2015
A portion of U.S. 1 later reopened along with Viera Boulevard. Dozens of people — passersby and pedestrians — pulled alongside of U.S. 1 to snap photos and to just take in the sight of the train.
“Wow,” said Mike Winder, a 29-year-old visiting his mother in Viera from England.
He pulled off of Viera Boulevard and walked up to the tracks to view the train.
“I just wanted to look at it proper. It’s a big mess,” he said.
A private contractor was also set to arrive to determine what equipment would be needed to hoist the cars upright and remove them from the site. The rest of the freight cars, still sitting on the tracks, stretched at least another quarter-mile to the south.