For the third time in a year, a freight train derails at the same spot in Tacoma

For the third time in a year, a freight train passing near the Port of Tacoma derailed, knocking down power lines and blocking traffic in the surrounding area Wednesday afternoon.

The incident was first reported to the Tacoma Fire Department a few minutes before 2 p.m., according to department spokesperson Sionna Stallings-Alailima. It caused multiple cars of the train, operated by BNSF Railway, to derail near the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Port of Tacoma Road. No one was injured, according to Stallings-Alailima.

Nearby power lines draped over some of the train cars. A BNSF employee at the scene did not respond to questions from The News Tribune but did say the area was unsafe for civilians.

The incident disrupted traffic around the Port of Tacoma. At 2:30 p.m. the wrecked train was stalled in the 2300 block of Lincoln Avenue, preventing vehicles from passing through. At that time, Stallings-Alailima did not know how much longer the road would be blocked.

It is the third time in 12 months a freight train has derailed near the intersection, with prior incidents coming in September 2021 and March 2022. BNSF has not yet made the cause of Wednesday’s wreck public.

In a statement emailed to the newspaper, a BNSF spokesperson wrote that the two cars that derailed were empty containers. She said the crew members were working to re-rail them.

Eric Green, a manager with Tacoma Public Utilities, told the newspaper he expects the power to be out along Port of Tacoma Rd. until around 5 p.m. He said the area surrounding Lincoln Ave. could be out until Thursday.

Some workers at the Port of Tacoma have come to expect BNSF train derailments near this intersection. Robert Ross, a longshoreman, told The News Tribune he and his crew have seen events like this periodically.

“[Trains] keep shoving, just keep shoving this way and starts destroying the surrounding infrastructure,” Ross said.

He noted the disruption that an event like this wreck causes to the workers who use the Port regularly.

“This is a vital corridor for the economy,” he said. “When the Port of Tacoma is cut off like this, no more cargo is flowing. The freeway’s right here ... so from here down, nobody’s getting cargo.”

This story was originally published August 24, 2022 at 3:23 PM.