Freight train derails in southeast Pennsylvania, but no known injuries or hazards

Barren Hill Fire Police block a local intersection after a train derailment on Monday morning, July 17, 2023. (Alexandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

WHITEMARSH TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — A freight train derailment in southeast Pennsylvania early Monday spurred precautionary evacuations, but officials said no injuries were reported and there was no known hazard to the public.

The 40-car CSX train, which was operating on tracks owned by Norfolk Southern, derailed around 4:50 a.m. in Whitemarsh Township. CSX said at least 16 cars went off the tracks.

Silicone pellets were leaking from at least one train car, Whitemarsh police said, but they posed no risk to the public. It wasn’t immediately known what was inside the other derailed cars, and hazmat teams were at the site.

The cause of the derailment was under investigation.

Norfolk Southern — and the entire rail industry — has been under intense scrutiny since one of its trains derailed and caught fire in February in Ohio, creating towering black smoke, forcing evacuations and raising environmental worries.