Cleanup continues at Alabama & Gulf Coast derailment site, Genesee & Wyoming says

As of last night, a contractor continued to remove damaged rail cars at the site of an Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway L.L.C. (AGR) derailment that occurred early Friday morning near Aliceville, Ala.

A 90-car train carrying crude oil jumped the track, causing 20 cars and two of the train's three locomotives to derail; 11 of the derailed cars caught fire. No injuries were reported, according to Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWI), which owns AGR.

Crews are working around the clock to remove the derailed cars and repair the rail line. The locomotives and 61 cars that did not derail have been removed from the site, GWI officials said in an update posted on the company's website.

"Rail traffic is being rerouted to minimize the impact to customers. It is estimated that the rail line will be back in service by next weekend," they said. "A comprehensive investigation to determine the cause of the derailment is ongoing."

The train was en route from Amory, Miss., to Walnut Hill, Fla. The derailment occurred near a timber trestle.

An unknown quantity of crude oil entered an adjacent marshland and eventually was contained, GWI officials said. AGR will continue to work with a contractor experienced in crude-oil cleanup to remediate the site, they said. The railroad also has been cooperating with Federal Railroad Administration and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials.

AGR operates 348 miles of owned and leased tracks from Pensacola, Fla., export terminals north to Columbus, Miss., and from Mobile north to Kimbrough, Ala.