East Austin Train Derailment Sparks Street Closures, Detours

EAST AUSTIN — A train derailment early Sunday in East Austin resulted in no injuries, but its aftermath was expected to result in daylong traffic delays amid street closures, officials said.

According to a Capital Metro press advisory sent to Patch,the freight train operated by WATCO occurred at around 4:20 a.m. The incident occurred the 2300 block of East 6th Street between Robert Martinez Jr. and Pedernales streets. Nine cars reportedly went off the tracks, resulting in the derailment.

In an emailed reply to questions from Patch, a WATCO spokesperson said the derailment happened on the Central substation on a track maintained by a third party. The cars were hauling a so-called base material, WATCO spokeswoman Tracie VanBecelaere wrote in her email to Patch. These are raw materials — crushed stone, limestone, sand, gravel and gypsum and the like —transported by rail from quarries or suppliers to cement and ready-mix concrete plants where cement and clay products materials (brick and tile, concrete, wallboard and plaster) are produced.

The WATCO spokeswoman added that work crews with Herzog, a Missouri-based rail and heavy/highway contractor, is tasked with clearing the site: "Nine cars derailed, HERZOG is clearing up the derailment, and the cars will be re-railed by approximately 1700 (5 p.m.) today," she told Patch. "I anticipate that Herzog will have the track back in service by Tuesday evening, Dec. 11th."

In an email, CapMetro spokeswoman Mariette Hummel said there were a total of 88 cars on the train with the nine derailed cars. "The last car was rerailed at 3:35 [p.m.]," she wrote. "There are three cars secured on the commuter tracks and WATCO will clear those cars overnight. We do not anticipate delays to commuter service in the morning. Freight service is expected to resume Tuesday evening."

She added that Herzog crews also are conducting track repairs. The contractor also operates the CapMetro commuter train, Hummel added, and are responsible for maintaining the part of the track owned by the local transit company. For its part, WATCO operates the freight service, the spokeswoman added.

Herzog is a leading rail and heavy/highway contractor across North America, according to the Herzog website. "We efficiently solve complex transportation problems in challenging operating environments thanks to fifty years of experience and our highly qualified team of professionals," company officials wrote on their website.

Ensuing cleanup of the wreckage prompted street closures in the area around East 6th Street as well as road detours, officials said. CapMetro officials noted rail service was not be interrupted as there is no passenger train service on Sunday. "Our passenger service is not scheduled to run on Sunday so will not be affected today," the press advisory read in part.

Police have speculated that rain and accompanying cold weather may have factored into the derailment, but the CapMetro spokeswoman told Patch via email the exact cause of the derailment is still under investigation.

What is clear is the cleanup won't be completed until around 5 p.m. Sunday, and the following streets, according to police, have been closed as a result:

• 2500 block of Webberville Road, east- and west-bound lanes, at Northwestern Avenue.
• 2400 block of East 7th Street, both east- and west-bound lanes.
• 2400 block of East 6th Street, east- and west-bound lanes.
• 500 block of Pedernales at East 5th Street.

In their statement, CapMetro referred questions related to street detours to the Austin Police Department: "Please contact APD for information on road detours. We will post bus detours on social media."

By around 3 p.m., police advised the 7th Street crossing had been reopened. However, other streets will remain closed as crews undertake cleanup efforts expected to stretch into the evening. "The 7th Street crossing has been reopened," police wrote on Twitter. "The 6th Street crossing will remain closed while crews work on removing the rail cars. This may last throughout the night. We don’t expect MetroRail service to be affected."

Texas is the nation's largest producer and consumer of the type of aggregates that were spilled Sunday morning, according to the Association of American Railroads. The state's growing population — particularly around Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston — has driven the most demand for aggregates shipped by freight rail, the AAR reports.

World News Tonight broadcast aerial footage of the derailment on the ABC television network's Twitter feed:

The incident cast an unintentional spotlight on the manner in which such incidents are reported to the public by CapMetro. After scouring unsuccessfully for information related to the derailment — on CapMetro's Twitter account, Facebook page and official website — to alert Patch readers of the incident and resulting street closures, a call was placed to the Capital Metro News Media Voicemail Line included in the media contacts contacts at the bottom of the website.

"During major service disruptions and incidents, media members should call the Capital Metro News Media Voicemail Line at 512-369-7775," CapMetro officials advise on their website as to the intended use of that line. "The voicemail line will be updated frequently and should be your first call for information."

But the recorded message on the Capital Metro News Media Voicemail line alerted to delays in Metro Rail service dating to March 5, 2018, at 1:08 p.m. The message alerted to 30-minute delays related to speed restrictions spurred by area construction.

Patch then dialed the number for the News Media Hotline, and reached CapMetro spokeswoman Hummel. She offered to include Patch on its mailing list for such advisories, subsequently sending the notice. Patch explained to Hummel of the outdated message on the voicemail line (which doesn't allow for people to actually leave voicemail messages for return calls), prompting her to note she would alert others in the organization to insert a message defaulting to more generalized information.

It's only when incidents result in injuries or service disruptions that alerts would be included in the voicemail line, Hummel explained. Patch attempted to call for the need for greater transparency after each incident given anxiety such incidents might spark among residents — who, as laymen, might not make the distinction between incidents resulting in service disruption or wonder if injuries resulted — before being cut off when Hummel alerted she was receiving another another incoming call and had to cut the conversation short.

The sent press advisory referred further questions related to the incident to the WATCO communications department, with both a telephone number and email address. But a voicemail alerted the company had been reached outside of its normal hours of operation between 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays.

Patch sent a series of questions to the WATCO communications department email, receiving a prompt reply. However, a couple of follow-up questions related to the freight company transporting the materials and the nature of the freight were not immediately answered.

By around 3 p.m., CapMetro retweeted a story on the incident by a local news station with this headline: "Heads up to our bus customers: we expect detours in the area."

According to the press advisory sent once Patch was placed on the media list, Capital Metro will conduct a full investigation with its partner, WATCO. "We expect the clean-up to take several hours," the statement read.

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