Amtrak has suspended service between Washington, D.C. and Richmond, Virginia, and crews are working to remove derailed trains and inspect tracks.
A train derailed Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C., causing delays for travelers and commuters on the Virginia Railroad Express (VRE) and Amtrak that are not expected to be cleared until early Wednesday morning.
An Amtrak spokesperson told WTOP that Amtrak’s Northeast Regional Train 86 derailed around 8:47 a.m. Tuesday while traveling slowly in a tunnel south of Union Station. The train remained upright and one Amtrak employee was transported for evaluation.
Amtrak plans to resume service south of Washington DC on Wednesday morning, a spokesperson told WTOP. No passengers or crew were injured.
The DC Fire Department and EMS said passengers were moved to unaffected vehicles and taken to the Virginia Railroad Express station at L’Enfant Plaza. However, derailments and schedule changes continue to affect his VRE operating hours.
“VRE services will continue to be impacted tomorrow due to this morning’s accident involving an Amtrak train just south of Union Station,” VRE announced on Tuesday. “Railway traffic is still blocked in and out of Union Station, and we have been unable to salvage train equipment from the wagon yard north of Union Station.”
VRE has announced that five trains that have not yet arrived at the depot will run until Wednesday morning in order to keep operations running as long as possible.
The service information says, ‘Please note that tomorrow morning the train will not be able to enter Union Station, so it will end at L’Enfant Station.’
VRE will operate only L’Enfant station, and trains 300, 304, 306, 310 and 314 on the Fredericksburg Line will not operate. Manassas Line trains 322, 326, 330 and 321 also do not run on Wednesday mornings.
7/12 morning train timetable
Fredericksburg:
-302 departs Spotsylvania at 5:06 AM.
-308 departs Spotsylvania at 6:01 AM
-312 departs Spotsylvania at 7:06 AM.Manassas:
-324 departs Broad Run at 5:21am
-328 departs Broad Run at 6:16 AM
-332 departs Broad Run at 8:01am pic.twitter.com/brm5Xgws6C— Virginia Rail Express (@VaRailExpress) July 12, 2023
“Afternoon services may also be affected and we will provide a schedule for that as soon as possible based on new developments. The plan is for afternoon trains to depart from L’Enfant station as today.” said VRE on Tuesday.
Amtrak operations remained temporarily suspended between Washington, D.C. and Richmond, Virginia, as crews tried to remove derailed trains and inspect tracks. The cause of the derailment has not yet been determined.
Amtrak derailment update. All passengers were transferred to unaffected vehicles and taken to L’Enfant Plaza Station. A DC Fire EMS unit is on standby to provide any assistance. One Amtrak employee was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. #DCs Bravest
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) July 11, 2023
Several trains were detained in Alexandria after the derailment, including one running between Norfolk and New York City.To reduce confusion, VRE offered passengers ride options Omni Ride Bus with a train ticket.
WTOP’s Acacia James, Alejandro Alvarez and Joshua Barlow contributed to this article.
Sign up here to get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox.
© 2023 WTOP. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users within the European Economic Area.
