Freight train hits another head-on, injuring 2 workers

CHESTER, Pa. – Two freight trains crashed head-on Friday morning outside Philadelphia, knocking one locomotive off the tracks and injuring two crew members.

The CSX trains remained upright following the crash in Chester Township, about 15 miles from Philadelphia. The trains had been travelling the same track, but local law enforcement and the transportation company are trying to determine how fast each was going and what caused the crash, CSX spokesman Rob Doolittle said.

TV footage from the crash showed only one car, a locomotive, had moved slightly off of the rails. Doolittle said recovery crews Friday afternoon had re-railed the locomotive.

The incident involved four locomotives in total.

One of the trains, composed of three locomotives and 64 freight cars, was empty as it travelled from Richmond, Virginia, to Camden, New Jersey. It hit another CSX train that had one locomotive pulling eight intermodal cars carrying consumer goods and food products to Atlanta from Quebec, Canada.

Neither train was carrying hazardous materials, but some diesel spilled on the tracks as a result of the crash, Philly.com reported.

“Basically, it’s a minor accident that happens to be two trains,” Chester Township Fire Chief Jeff Comisiak told reporters at the scene.

Two crew members were aboard each train at the time. Two of them were taken to a hospital for treatment and released later Friday, having suffered no serious injuries, Doolittle said.

Ray Guy, 58, told Philly.com that he was moving his car at his home alongside the tracks when he saw an eastbound train and a parked westbound train on the same track “hit hard.” Guy said one of the crew members appeared dazed.

Comisiak said the four workers were outside the locomotives when first responders arrived.

Officials expected the tracks to be in full operation and freight service to resume through the crash area Friday night.

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This story has been corrected to show one of the trains was travelling to Camden, New Jersey, not Pavonia, New Jersey.