Tennessee Injury Law Center
The recent train derailment in Quebec, Canada caused me to investigate how many train accidents we have had recently in Tennessee.
In the first four months of 2013, there have been twelve incidents involving trains in Tennessee. Seven of those incidents involved derailments, the largest of which occurred in Lawrence County shortly after the first of the year. Fortunately, no personal injury occurred, but the estimate of property damage was $175,000. Only one locomotive and four cars derailed in that incident, which occurred at a relatively low rate of speed.
Two collisions of railroad cars have occurred since January 1, 2013, but each of them occurred in railway yards.
Three incidents falling within the category of "other" types occurred at the railway yard in Shelby County and caused only minor damage.
The number of incidents is running slightly behind the total number of incidents in 2012, when 28 incidents were recorded. Some $1.7M in damages were caused in this Shelby County derailment, which resulted in no personal injuries. The property damage was limited to the train and track.
Fortunately, Tennessee has escaped a derailment causing significant injuries or property damage to non-railroad property owners for several years.