Broken rail linked to Lynchburg crash

07.03.16. A broken rail has been cited as the probable cause of a crude oil train crash in Lynchburg, Virginia last year.
The crash occurred on 30 April 2014, at 1:54 pm eastern daylight time, when 17 CSX Transportation (CSXT) tank cars on petroleum crude oil unit train K08227 derailed in Lynchburg. Three of the derailed cars were partially submerged in the James River. One was breached and released about 29,868 gallons of crude oil into the river, some of which caught fire.
No injuries to the public or crew were reported. At the time of the accident, it was cloudy and raining lightly; the temperature was 53degF. CSXT estimated the damages at US$1.2million, not including environmental remediation.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause of this accident was a broken rail caused by a reverse detail fracture with evidence of rolling contact fatigue.