EAST AURORA, N.Y. — A train was derailed from the tracks in the Village of East Aurora just before 11 p.m. Monday.
The East Aurora Police Department said that 15 of the train's 98 rail cars, including the train's engine, came off the tracks in the area of Elm Street and Main Street. Police said the only hazardous material released by the freight train was some diesel fluid from the engine.
Police evacuated 41 homes from the area as a precaution. However, police now said it's safe for the evacuated people to return to their residences.
Police said there were no injuries to any of the train's operators or to anybody in the area. Police also said no railroad structures were damaged because of the derailment.
The cause of the incident is under investigation. A member of the East Aurora Police Department said that a switch on the tracks was being looked into as a possible cause. Road closures are expected in the area for a period of three to four days while the scene is being cleaned up.
Congressman Brian Higgins is calling on the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to investigate the incident. The congressman said those affected by the derailment deserve to know what went wrong, calling it a close call for the local neighborhood.
“Residents who live in proximity to America’s freight railroads have the right to expect an appropriate level of federal oversight to ensure that the requisite capital investments are being made and that safety protocols are being observed," Higgins wrote in his letter to the FRA. "Transparency here will be key, as residents have a right to know what went wrong -- why a neighborhood was forced to evacuate, and what corrective steps are being taken to prevent an occurrence like this from happening in the future.”
