May 03, 2018
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
A Philadelphia-bound SEPTA Regional Rail Train at the East Falls Station, Tues. Oct. 17, 2017.
An 88-car freight train traveling under an I-95 overpass in Delaware County derailed late Wednesday night, leading to delays and service suspension of Amtrak and SEPTA trains.
The Norfolk Southern freight train was carrying stone and in Ridley Township. Its two rear cars derailed on Amtrak track lines between the Crum Lynne and Eddystone SEPTA stations, which are on the Wilmington/Newark SEPTA regional rail line.
One of the cars fell and spilled its contents, CBS3 reported.
Though there were no injuries and workers were on the scene quickly to clear away the damage, train delays for both Amtrak and SEPTA persisted throughout the night and into the Thursday morning commute. Northeast Corridor trains were running on a delay throughout the night until about 5 a.m., when it temporarily disbanded service.
Just before 8 a.m., the Amtrak line resumed running, but the company warned of “significant residual delays.”
SERVICE UPDATE: Regular scheduled service is resuming following an earlier freight derailment south of PHL. Customers can expect significant residual delays throughout the morning due to a reduced number of tracks available. Thank you for your patience.
— Amtrak Northeast (@AmtrakNEC) May 3, 2018
For SEPTA travelers on the Wilmington/Newark line, though, there’s still a wait. As of 7 a.m. Thursday, the trains were suspended.
Newark: Service is suspended until further notice due to Amtrak's freight train derailment. Passenger extra trains will operate on the Media/Elwyn line.
— SEPTA (@SEPTA_WIL) May 3, 2018
Newark: Due to a freight train derailment on Amtrak, Wilmington service is suspended by Amtrak.
— SEPTA (@SEPTA_WIL) May 3, 2018
Officials are still investigating what caused the derailment.
