WAXHAW, N.C.,None — A railroad spokesperson said Thursday evening that high temperatures may have been a factor in the derailment of a CSX freight train that blocked every crossing in the town of Waxhaw and delayed emergency responders.
The train jumped the tracks Thursday afternoon in downtown Waxhaw southeast of Charlotte and forced emergency responders to take long detours to get to calls.
A CSX official told Channel 9 Eyewitness News the cause of the derailment had not been determined, but that extreme heat can cause rails to bend.
The official temperature reached 100 degrees in Charlotte late Thursday afternoon and broke a record.
Mike Borysoff owns an autobody shop just a few feet away from the tracks. He said, "We went through the gate and walked by the tracks and you could see all the cars tipped over."
Waxhaw mayor Daune Gardner said the train blocked every railroad crossing in town. She said drivers had to take detours lasting at least 20 minutes.
Gardner said a $50 million road project she's worked to get funded by the state would have helped. The Waxhaw Parkway project would connect one side of town to the other along Highway 75.
The mayor said, "What we would like to see on the north side are separated grade crossings so that whatever is going on with the train, we can move people around and get our emergency responders where they need to be."
Although a CSX spokesperson said the 12 cars that derailed were carrying grain and no one was hurt, Mayor Gardner worries about what could happen in the future.
"We were very fortunate in this instance that there wasn't anything hazardous and nobody got hurt but this is exactly the type of scenario that makes the Waxhaw Parkway so essential for our community."
CSX crews planned to work throughout the night and expected the track to be cleared on Friday.