2 killed, 3 injured when freight train derails in small West Texas city after collision

Two Union Pacific employees were killed and three people were injured when a freight train collided with a tractor-trailer and derailed in a small West Texas city, authorities said Thursday.

The train derailed around 5 p.m. Wednesday in Pecos after the collision at a railway crossing, authorities said. Union Pacific, based in Omaha, Nebraska, said Thursday that two employees had been killed. Pecos Police Chief Lisa Tarango said the other injuries were minor.

Although hazardous materials were being carried aboard the train, none were released in the derailment, city officials said. The hazardous materials included lithium ion batteries and air bags.

Leaked diesel fuel was contained, officials said.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to investigate. It said in a statement Thursday that it doesn't determine or speculate about the cause during the on-scene phase of the investigation.

Ronald Lee, emergency services chief for Reeves County, said that some of those injured were in the Chamber of Commerce building, which was damaged in the derailment. He said damage to the Chamber of Commerce was “significant enough” that officials advised against entering the building until an engineer could inspect it.

Railroad safety has been in the spotlight ever since a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in early 2023, spilling a cocktail of toxic chemicals and catching fire. Regulators urged the industry to improve safety and members of Congress proposed a package of reforms, but railroads haven’t made many major changes to their operations and the bill has stalled.

Eddie Hall, national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union that represents engineers, said in a statement that the derailment is “a reminder that much more needs to be done to make railroading safer.”

The derailment, he said, “should serve as a wake-up call to legislators to improve rail safety."

Images from the site of the crash in Pecos show that the train was hauling metal shipping containers that were stacked two high.

Pecos, which has a population of about 13,000, is located about 200 miles (320 kilometers) east of El Paso.

Tarango said the cleanup was underway.