Update from the Logan County EMA
Train derailment at Elkhart

[May 17, 2017]  Update to the Monday night derailment of a freight train at Elkhart

Following an on-site morning review, Logan County Emergency Management Agency Deputy Director Terry Storer said that as of 1 p.m. on Monday, cleanup crews had cleared 90 percent of the track area.

Currently, officials are estimating that it will be 72 hours to return to fully operational status.

Union Pacific, Illinois Commerce Commission and Federal Railroad Authority representatives met with cleanup contractors at the site on Tuesday morning.

Governor Oglesby Street is the primary street leading into downtown Elkhart from the west. Damages to the tracks were south of the Governor Oglesby Street crossing.

However, Governor Oglesby Street was to be temporarily closed at the tracks early Tuesday afternoon for an estimated one hour. This would allow Union Pacific crews to reinstall wheels under the carriers and enable moving the half of the train that is still on the tracks out of the way.

Derailed cars have been stacked between Old Route 66 and the tracks.

When cleanup crews have removed the debris and all of the train cars have been cleared from the damaged track area, Union Pacific rail crews will be working rapidly to replace bent and twisted track.

Elkhart Fire Chief Jay Akers is the lead authority for public safety. He requests that the public is please stay away from the affected area to allow cleanup and restoration efforts to continue as rapidly as possible. There is a lot of large equipment that needs room to work.

The Logan County Emergency Management Agency remains available to assist at the scene as needed.

[News release from the Logan County Emergency Management Agency]