Interstate 65 was shut down for a short period of time Tuesday night after a train derailed about nine miles northeast of Elizabethtown, marking the third derailment in the area over the last four years.
The CSX train derailed in Colesburg, in northeastern Hardin County adjacent to I-65, Tuesday night at approximately 8:15 local time and resulted in the evacuation of several residents out of an abundance of caution. Officials later determined no hazardous materials were on the train.
It was initially thought that seven of the train’s cars derailed into a creek.
The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office, Kentucky State Police and multiple fire departments from Hardin and Bullitt counties responded to the scene.
Both north and southbound lanes of I-65 were closed for less than an hour between Lebanon Junction (exit 105) and Elizabethtown (exit 91).
No injuries were reported. Authorities are investigating the cause of the derailment.
This marks the third CSX train derailment in the Hardin/Bullitt County region since 2017 on the tracks that run adjacent to I-65:
In August 2017, 23 railcars derailed about a mile-and-a-half south of Colesburg, and in May 2018, a train carrying automobiles left the tracks near Lebanon Junction Elementary School, in Bullitt County. Two locomotives and 16 railcars derailed in the 2018 incident.
(Photo courtesy of WDRB.com)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
