Howard Street Tunnel fire
| Date | July 18, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Location | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Coordinates | 39°17′16″N 76°37′09″W / 39.2877°N 76.6193°WCoordinates: 39°17′16″N 76°37′09″W / 39.2877°N 76.6193°W |
| Country | United States |
| Rail line | Baltimore Terminal Subdivision |
| Operator | CSX Transportation |
| Type of incident | Derailment |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
The Howard Street Tunnel fire (also known as the Baltimore Freight Rail Crash) was a 60-car CSX Transportation freight train derailment that occurred in a freight through-route tunnel under Howard Street in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 18, 2001. The derailment sparked a chemical fire that raged for five or six days and virtually shut down the downtown area. In the evening of the first day, a water main ruptured causing significant flooding in the streets above. The accident disrupted East Coast rail service. It also slowed Internet service in the US for several hours due to the destruction of a cable passing through the tunnel.
The train consisted of 60 cars. Car nos. 46 through 56 derailed in the Howard Street Tunnel at 3:08 PM, and became disconnected from the first 45 cars. The train experienced an automatic emergency brake application resulting from the separation of the train, but the crew didn't realise that a derailment had taken place. Around 3:26 they moved the locomotives out of the tunnel.
Around 4 PM smoke was seen coming from a sewer near the intersection of Howard and Lombard Streets, and the fire department was notified. Later, smoke emerged from the ends of the tunnel and from several manholes. Eventually it was found that one of the derailed tank cars, carrying tripropylene, had ruptured and the escaping flammable liquid had caught fire. This fire also ignited paper and wood products in other cars. Another tank car ruptured releasing 2,554 US gallons (9,670 l) of hydrochloric acid. Around 6:15 a 40-inch cast iron water main above the tunnel burst due to deformation, eventually releasing about 14,000,000 US gallons (53,000,000 l) of water. The fire burned for about 5 days.
...
Wikipedia