Report: Broken rail caused deadly I-25 train derailment

(PUEBLO, Colo.) — A new report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has reported a broken rail caused the deadly train derailment north of Pueblo in 2023.

On Oct. 15, 2023, a BNSF freight train heading south derailed about five miles north of Pueblo, causing a bridge to collapse on the southbound lanes of Interstate 25.

The collapse caused the death of semi-truck driver, 60-year-old Lafollette Henderson, who was trapped under the bridge. The derailment spilled a large quantity of coal on the highway and destroyed the bridge north of Purcell Boulevard.

At the time of the derailment, 12 train cars were estimated to have derailed and the incident caused the closure of I-25 in both directions for days.

Now, a new report found the derailment occurred at the switch at S. Bragdon, the point of derailment located at mile post 109.656 on the West rail. Video footage captured from the rear locomotive of the previous train shows a broken rail.

The report said the rail made out of two thermite field welds showed signs of friction batter and sudden catastrophic failure. Thermite welding refers to a method that uses heat to mold two rails together. The north weld — which showed the catastrophic failure — was made by BNSF in 2007 while the south weld (Weld #71) was manufactured on May 24, 2023.

Both rails joined at the weld showed that they were not previously drilled for joint bars and had a difference in rail height. Three segments of rail related to the two field welds were also involved in the accident.

BNSF completed two inspections before the derailment, one on Oct. 9 and another on Oct. 11, which showed no defective conditions. A third inspection on Oct. 13 ended before reaching the rail that failed.

So far, track damages have been estimated to be $10,400,000. The mechanical damages are estimated at $2,353,722.

A final report about the train derailment has not been released yet. All the reports compiled can be found on the link above.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado.