Train Engine & Boxcar derails at Union Pacific yard in Eagle Pass
By: Jose G. Landa
Eagle Pass Business Journal©
A large Union Pacific train engine and boxcar derailed from the railroad tracks at the Union Pacific railroad yard located on Thompson Road in northern Maverick County while doing train movements on Friday, January 25, 2013, at approximately 6:30 a.m., in Eagle Pass, Texas. Train traffic between Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico on the U.S.-Mexico border was interrupted.
The train derailment caused rail traffic in and out of Eagle Pass to come to a screeching halt for several hours while Union Pacific rail crews worked to clear the derailed train engine and boxcar.
The train derailment occurred at the Union Pacific rail yard on Thompson Road in northern Eagle Pass near Deer Run Subdivision and the Dos Republicas Coal Partnerhip proposed Eagle Pass Mine permit area.
Maverick County citizens living in the densely populated Thompson Road and Deer Run subdivision have previously expressed their opposition to the Dos Republicas Coal Partnership proposed open surface coal mine for precisely the same reason as the dangers and risks of a train derailment while transporting coal between Eagle Pass and Nava, Coahuila, Mexico, as well as the contamination of the air quality in Maverick County.
George Baxter, Vice-President of the Maverick County Environmental and Public Health Association, a non-profit organization in opposition to Dos Republicas Coal Partnership’s application to renew, revise, and expand Permit 42-A, Eagle Pass Mine, before the Railroad Commission of Texas, stated that had the train been carrying coal or other toxic and hazardous chemicals, the derailment would have caused an environmental catastrophe to the residents living in the densely populated area by contaminating and polluting the air and water quality, including Elm Creek and the Rio Grande River. Two elementary public schools, Pete Gallego and Seco Mines, and a Texas Migrant Council Headstart school are within a one mile radius from the train derailment and proposed Dos Republicas coal mine permit area, potentially endangering the lives of thousands of innocent students.
Baxter further stated that thousands of Maverick Countians live near the Union Pacific train yard on Thompson Road and the proposed coal mine permit area including Deer Run, Elm Creek, South Elm Creek, Hopedale, Siesta Acres, Seco Mines, and many local farmers, ranchers, and landowners along Elm Creek and Thompson Road area. “Any potential coal or toxic and hazardous chemicals train derailment in Eagle Pass could affect thousands of citizens, endangering their health, air, and water,” Baxter said.
