PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Emergency crews are responding to the scene of a 16-car freight train derailment in Bensalem, Bucks County.
It happened around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday at the train tracks near Bristol Road, which is now closed between Brownsville Road and Old Lincoln Highway. Crews from CSX, which operates the freight train that derailed, are clearing the scene.
Some homes were evacuated, and a shelter-in-place was in effect for residents in the area. As of 5 p.m., people are returning to their homes, as Bensalem police’s Director of Public Safety William McVey said the threat to public safety is over. Officials also evacuated a business on Old Lincoln Highway.
McVey said only two of the three cars marked as hazardous materials were actually carrying hazardous material. One was an alcohol-based substance, and the other was acid. Neither leaked in the derailment.
CSX is leading both the cleanup and investigation into how this derailment happened.
Seventy-two cars were part of the train. Officials said this could have been way worse.
Service along the West Trenton line is suspended.
