Bend train’s diesel fuel spill may be work of saboteur

A rail apparently placed by the railroad tracks in northeast Bend ruptured a locomotive’s fuel tank late Tuesday morning, spilling about 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel along a mile of track, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway official said. The railroad is investigating the incident as a possible act of sabotage.

A local southbound train from Prineville to Bend going about 30 mph struck the length of metal rail, part of what makes up a track, around 11 a.m. just north of the Revere Avenue crossing, said BNSF regional spokesman Gus Melonas in Seattle.

“Roughly 200 feet north of Revere, they struck what appears to be a rail that was placed next to the tracks – we believe purposely,” Melonas told NewsChannel 21. “We’re investigating it as possible sabotage.”

“It ruptured the fuel tank of a locomotive – tore the bottom off it,” he said, “resulting in about 2,000 gallons of diesel released.”

The crew felt the collision and “got the train stopped within a mile of where the impact occurred,” Melonas said.

The spill prompted Bend police and fire crews to close the Revere and Olney avenues crossings and the Greenwood Avenue underpass for cleanup and investigation. Another underpass, at Franklin Avenue, was not affected, Melonas said.

The two street-level crossings were both reopened before 2 p.m., but the underpass was closed several hours longer; Melonas said the clean-up work at Greenwood would be finished around 9:30 p.m., However, city officials said they still need to do further clean-up work Wednesday morning, closing one lane of traffic at each crossing.

Bend police Lt. Nick Parker said evidence at the scene suggested an object “was placed on the track to cause the damage.” He said those responsible could be charged with first-degree criminal mischief.

Anyone with information about the incident or who observed any suspicious activity in the area at or before the incident was asked to call dispatchers at 541-693-6911.

You can also contact the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-877-876-TIPS, or use the form on KTVZ.COM’s Crime Stoppers page. You can remain anonymous, and you could be eligible for a cash reward.

The railroad has remediation teams on site from Prineville and Portland, developing a cleanup plan, the spokesman said. A BNSF investigative team also was on site.

The spilled fuel has “saturated into the roadbed,” Melonas said, adding that “there’s no impact on waterways or the public” in the area.

The southbound train had two locomotives and three loaded rail cars, two carrying cement and a third with hauling propane, the railroad spokesman said, adding that the rail line reopened around 12:30 p.m. An average of seven to eight freight trains travel through the area daily, he added.

The closures were a major travel headache for many Bend drivers, like Linda Collins: “Oh, it’s chaos!”

Bend Deputy Fire Marshal Jeff Bond said the clean-up was mostly precautionary in nature, as the diesel posed a “very low hazard.”

The train was taken to the nearby rail yard, and a special crew called in from Klamath Falls to make temporary repairs to the locomotive, Melonas said. It then will be taken to a larger facility for permanent repairs.

Trains in the area and across the country have been under added scrutiny in recent months, by public officials and others, amid a surge in shipments of crude oil by rail and past incidents of fires or even explosions and death. Melonas noted that oil tankers sit at a higher level on the tracks than the fuel tanks of locomotives.

We’ll have more details as available and tonight at 5 and 6 on NewsChannel 21.