All intersections are back open after a train derailment in Scottsburg shut down many intersections in the town for a few hours Saturday morning. Tracks are expected to be open by midday today.
8 or 9 cars of the CSX train derailed around 8:30 a.m., bringing the carrier to a halt as the engine got to the north end of Scottsburg. The railroad runs through the center of town and created a traffic problem as the accident was blocking State Road 56 and several other smaller roads.
There were no reports of power lines damaged. No physical injuries have been reported and there is no reported cause for the derailment.
The area affected is near Lake Iola.
The train was about 70 cars long and stretched south, blocking all intersections starting at Owen Street until it was just shy of the Lover’s Lane intersection, which remained open to traffic.
Those roads are all passable now, as crews cleared the stranded train cars by hooking them to other engines to move them.
The derailed cars, which were at the front of the train, are near Lake Lola in the William H. Graham Park and have not yet been cleared.
David Murphy, Scott County EMA Director, said there were no injuries or hazardous situations because of the derailment. The train was carrying automobiles.
Multiple agencies have launched an investigation into what caused the incident. Murphy said they will first determine if it was a mechanical error or something else was to blame.
It is unclear how long it will take crews to remove the remaining wreckage. “Possibly weeks,” said Murphy. “The magnitude of what we’re dealing with here with the number of cars, it will take some time.”
