Train derails, spills corn
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1 of 3By Alex Horvath / The Californian
BNSF officials look over a train accident at Santa Fe Way and Reina Road Tuesday afternoon. The train was hauling 16,000 tons of feed corn when the two cars derailed.
click to collapse -
2 of 3By Alex Horvath / The Californian
BNSF officials look over a train accident on Santa Fe Way and Reina Road Tuesday afternoon. The train was hauling 16,000 tons of feed corn when the two cars derailed.
click to collapse -
3 of 3
By Alex Horvath / The Californian
BNSF officials look over a train accident on Santa Fe Way and Reina Road Tuesday afternoon. The train was hauling 16,000 tons of feed corn when the two cars derailed.
click to collapse
By ANNA BURLESON, Californian staff writer aburleson@bakersfield.com
A crowd gathered Tuesday evening on Santa Fe Way near Reina Road to take photos of two train cars that derailed and spilled a train car full of corn.
A BNSF Railway Co. train was heading northbound in that area at about 4:39 p.m. when two cars derailed. The side of one car was severely punctured, allowing the corn inside to spill out on to the ground.
Lena Kent, BNSF Railway spokeswoman, said at about 8:45 p.m. that the cause of the wreck is still under investigation.
No one was injured and there was no imminent harm to anyone, but westbound traffic on Santa Fe Way was redirected as a safety precaution shortly following the wreck.
“No one was in any danger,” Kent said.
Officers from the California Highway Patrol and Bakersfield Police Department and crews from the Kern County Fire Department responded to the scene.
“It looks much more spectacular than it is,” said Capt. Derek Tisinger of Kern County Fire.
The portion of the tracks with the wrecked train cars remained closed into the evening as rail officials pulled apart the two cars that smashed together.
Four Amtrak trains carrying about 300 passengers total were affected by the closed track, according to Amtrak spokeswoman Christina Leeds.
Passengers are being bused between Bakersfield and Wasco while trains can’t get through.
“All of our passengers are being accommodated through alternate transportation,” Leeds said.
Kent said the wrecked train cars would be pulled off the track late Tuesday evening, allowing rail traffic through.
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