City harvests $240,000 in landfill fees for corn disposal

Five months after the train derailment in Socorro on March 25, an accident report has been made available by the Department of Transportation.

The report states, “the single main track derailed 36 railcars due to other rail and joint bar defects. The causal rail fracture was unable to be recovered due to debris and wreckage as a result of the derailment thus hindering further characterization of the fracture origin.”

The freight train was heading west at a recorded speed of 48 miles per hour when it derailed at milepost 978.5, said the report. The crew members included two operators and one conductor, who were six hours and three minutes into their shift, said the report. No injuries, drugs, or alcohol use were reported. The weather was reportedly clear, and temperatures were 34 degrees Fahrenheit.

According to the report, of the 116 freight cars loaded, 36 were derailed. Equipment damage was reported to be $2,715,929, and the track signal way and structure damage cost $913,093, for a total of over $3.6 million.

The first car involved in the derailment was in the 17th position on the train and loaded. The train’s trailing gross tonnage was 15,073 tons. The gross annual track density that goes through Socorro is 14.08 million tons.

A substantial amount of dried corn was visible at the scene during the derailment.

Michael Lucero, City of Socorro landfill director, said BNSF hired trucks to deliver it to the landfill, which took about two weeks to move.

He said 6,000 tons of corn were disposed of at $40 a ton, which cost BNSF about $240,000. Lucero said people in the community wanted the corn for their animals, but BNSF could not give it away due to liability concerns.

A couple weeks later around 10 a.m. on April 18, four BNSF rail cars carrying grain derailed in Jarales, Valencia County.

Then on April 26, 13 miles from Gallup, 35 BNSF rail cars carrying 180,000 gallons of fuel near Interstate 40 derailed and caused a large fire.

It led to an evacuation of residences within a two-mile radius and parts of Interstate 40 were shut down.

Much of the traffic was sent through Socorro and Magdalena for several days. Interstate 40 was closed for more than two days.