Cedar Rapids derailment caused by 'combination of factors,' rail official says

A combination of forces spread apart railroad tracks near downtown Cedar Rapids, causing a derailment last month, according to a railroad official.

"It was a combination of factors, which is often the case," said Jeff Woods, marketing manager for the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway (CRANDIC).

CRANDIC owns the tracks along Ninth Avenue SE between Third Street and its bridge over the Cedar River where at least six covered hopper cars loaded with corn left the rails Nov. 30. The train, operated by the Iowa Northern Railway, was delivering corn to the ADM ethanol plant in southwest Cedar Rapids.

There were no injuries. Third Street SE was closed for a few days as crews removed spilled corn, put the freight cars back on the track, and repaired damage to the pavement.

The train was negotiating a sharp curve when at least six cars went off the track. Woods said a combination of forces, "the buff-slack push-pull of a train," caused the rails to spread, causing the derailment.

"The train was in the process of going down one grade and up another and around an 18-percent curve," he said. "We look at this as an anomaly, and you have to be very careful operating the train."

The railroad has until Dec. 30 to provide its report to the Federal Railroad Administration which will review it and conduct its own followup investigation if needed, an FRA spokesman said.

Woods said hundreds of trains operate safely over the track every year.

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