BALTIMORE (AP) - Authorities say it appears that a mechanical problem caused a freight train derailment in a tunnel in Baltimore, but the specific cause is under investigation.
CSX spokesman Rob Doolittle said at least 13 cars derailed early Monday in the Howard Street tunnel, but there were no injuries or hazards to the public.
Doolittle says the 124-car train was headed from Philadelphia to Cumberland, Maryland, with eight locomotives.
He says one derailed car contains acetone, a flammable solvent. Rail traffic was stopped in the area.
Fire department spokesman Samuel Johnson says no poisonous substances were released and no chemicals leaked out of the derailed cars. He says other chemicals on the train include butane and liquefied petroleum gas.
Bob Maloney with the Baltimore Office of Emergency Management told ABC2 that one train car is being removed every two hours.
Crews have been working since Monday to clear the area. Two cars containing acetone were moved by 11 p.m. Monday. One was upright and the other had been derailed. Nine LPG railcars that derailed remain in the tunnel with residue in them, according to Samuel Johnson.
The clean up could last until Wednesday morning.
Derailed train cars being removed from Howard Street Tunnel. No chemical leaks reported. #GMM2 @ABC2NEWS pic.twitter.com/Bd0G4THSEf
— Brendan McNamara (@BrendanABC2) June 14, 2016
The old Mount Royal Station swarmed by @BaltimoreFire & @CSX. Have been working on derailment for almost 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/QkK6tlh9iE
— Brendan McNamara (@BrendanABC2) June 14, 2016
On Tuesday, Baltimore residents and environmental organizations called for action from the Baltimore City Council following the derailment.
Speakers included concerned residents Jon Kenney from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Jennifer Kunze from Clean Water Action.
Activists said an analysis shows 165,000 Baltimore residents live within the potential one-mile blast zone of an oil train disaster.
ABC2 News contributed to this report.
