Train conductor Eddie Johnson talks with a commuter at the Fredericksburg depot yesterday after all train traffic between Washington and Florida was halted by the derailment near Quantico. SCOTT NEVILLE/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Stranded VRE commuters board a bus at the Fredericksburg depot after CSX halted traffic on its railroad tracks. SCOTT NEVILLE/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Air Force Capt. Troy Uhlman of Spotsylvania County was aboard the train that derailed yesterday morning north of Quantico Marine Corps Base. Three passengers and a crew member were injured. SCOTT NEVILLE/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Mary Gonzales of Spotsylvania waits for a ride in the Quantico train station after being escorted from the derailed train to the depot. Gonzales was trying to get to her job at American University, where she's also a student. She expected to be at least three hours late. SCOTT NEVILLE/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Commuters leave the VRE train that derailed near Quantico during yesterday morning's rush hour, injuring four. Train 304 was carrying about 520 passengers toward Washington when its engine and last three cars jumped the tracks north of Quantico. SCOTT NEVILLE/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

VRE train goes off track, shuts down East Coast rail traffic

Date published: 1/6/2006

By KELLY HANNON and ELIZABETH PEZZULLO

Four people sustained minor injuries yesterday when a Virginia Railway Express commuter train derailed just north of Quantico Marine Corps Base.

A locomotive engine and three cars on Train 304 jumped the track at 6:43 a.m. near Possum Point Power Station. Three passengers and a crew member were treated for injuries at Potomac Hospital and released. More than 500 other riders were stranded for almost three hours until a train was sent to take them back to the VRE stations where they had boarded.

The accident closed the CSX tracks for more than 12 hours, shutting down all train traffic on CSX's main East Coast line and affecting Amtrak's Auto Train to Florida. VRE officials said they planned to resume full service this morning; CSX promised to work overnight repairing the tracks.

The train had just crossed the single-track Quantico Creek bridge and was moving into an area with parallel tracks when the accident occurred. It derailed at a switch point that directs trains onto one of two parallel tracks.

The first three cars had successfully passed the switch point when the final three cars, pushed by a locomotive, jumped the track, said National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman.

All of the train's cars remained upright, and the derailed cars traveled about a foot away from the rails, Hersman said. The train came to rest 245 feet north of the switch point, she said.

"The train did not even tip, or really even lean," VRE spokesman Mark Roeber said.

The train was traveling 40 mph when it derailed, below the 45-mph speed limit at the switch point, Hersman said.

Passengers aboard the train said they were fortunate the accident wasn't worse.

"I was snoozing and I felt this jolt like we ran over something, then we thumped along but we weren't going too fast, which we were thankful for," said Mike Woody, who drove from Hanover County to Fredericksburg to catch the train. He was in the last car.

"We had also just crossed the Quantico bridge. So it could have been much worse if it happened on the bridge," Woody said.

CSX cleared and repaired the tracks throughout the day. One of the two tracks was scheduled to reopen at 7 p.m. last night.

Date published: 1/6/2006