ACE Train Derailment Caused By Mudslide Over Tracks

ALAMEDA COUNTY - A mudslide over train tracks in the Niles Canyon area of Alameda County caused a commuter train to derail Monday evening, injuring nine people, an Altamont Corridor Express spokesman said Tuesday.

Investigators initially thought the obstruction was a fallen tree, but determined this morning there was a mudslide over the tracks, ACE spokesman Steve Walker said.

Two cars of the Stockton-bound train derailed at about 7:15 p.m. while it was traveling at about 35 mph in a posted 40 mph zone about a mile west of Sunol, halfway between Fremont and Pleasanton.

The first car flew off the tracks and landed on its side, partially submerged in nearby Alameda Creek. The car behind it remained upright but its wheels were buried in mud, Walker said.

Crews were working on getting that second car back onto the tracks Tuesday morning so it could be hauled away. After that, a flatbed car will be rolled into place there so cranes can hoist the first car out of the creek and haul it away, Walker said.

Whether the derailed car, valued at more than $2 million, can be salvaged remains to be seen, according to Walker.

Five passengers and the train's engineer were on board the first car. Four of them were seriously injured in the derailment and were taken to a hospital. Five other people on board the train suffered minor injuries, just scrapes and bruises, Walker said.

Alameda County fire officials said a few other people had minor injuries but were treated at the scene.

Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Kelly said Monday night it was a "miracle that nobody was killed."

The other approximately 200 passengers on board the train were taken by bus to the Alameda County fairgrounds and then to their final stations, according to the fire department.

All passengers reached their final stations by about 1 a.m., ACE officials said.

It was the first derailment in the 17-year history of the ACE commuter train, which runs from Stockton to San Jose.

Since the cause of the derailment is clear, the National Transportation Safety Board is not sending investigators, Walker said.

Service was been canceled for Tuesday and ACE officials have not determined when it might resume. The tracks in the area are owned by Union Pacific. Once the derailed train is removed from the tracks, they will need to be cleaned and inspected before service can resume. Union Pacific will have the final say on when the tracks are safe for regular service again, Walker said.

Union Pacific crews inspect the tracks in the area twice a week for obstructions, according to Walker.

For now, Amtrak is honoring ACE tickets between Fremont and San Jose until service resumes.

San Joaquin Regional Transit District's BART 150 bus route, with service from Stockton to the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station, is offering free rides Tuesday and Wednesday, ACE officials said.

Rail officials hoped to reach a decision later Tuesday as to whether ACE service can resume on Wednesday.

-Bay City News Service, images via Alameda County Fire Dept