Rail traffic resumes as cleanup of Fayette derailment continues

CSX reopened its tracks in Fayette County Thursday afternoon for the first time since the Feb. 16 derailment of an oil train.

The West Virginia Train Derailment Response Unified Command announced Thursday evening the tracks near Montgomery had been restored and reopened for commerce earlier in the day. Cleanup around the derailment site continued.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin also lifted his state of emergency for Fayette and Kanawha counties Thursday.

Approximately two dozen tankers filled with Bakken crude oil jumped the tracks creating a series of large explosions and fires that burned for several days. The cars impacted by the derailment have been taken to CSX’s Handley Yard in eastern Kanawha County for further cleanup.

A 500-foot retaining wall has been constructed between the tracks and Kanawha River near Mount Carbon where the derailment took place. The wall will keep the contaminated soil from getting into the river.

Cleanup officials said 97,000 gallons of oily-water mixture have been recovered from containment trenches and 172,105 gallons of crude oil recovered from the rail cars has been removed from the site. It’s also in Handley.

An investigation continues into what caused the derailment.