Train derails in Boulder Thursday night after hitting equipment, BNSF confirms

BOULDER, Colo. — A train derailed in Boulder Thursday night after hitting BNSF Railway equipment, the company confirmed to Denver7. The derailment spilled fuel and injured two crew members, according to BNSF Railway.

The train ran off the tracks just before 11:15 p.m. north of Boulder Community Health, BNSF said.

When it first happened, the Boulder Police Department said two trains collided and the conductors were the two people hurt.

The two crew members were taken to the hospital with minor injuries and have since been released, BNSF Director of External Communications Kendall Sloan said.

The train bridge was damaged, according to Boulder police, but no city property was damaged aside from some trees.

At first, Boulder police thought fuel was leaking from the train engines into Boulder Creek, but Friday morning, the department said it thought the sand that spilled out of the cars absorbed the fuel.

"A small amount of fuel spilled from the locomotive but [it] is not impacting the creek. Crews are on site working to clear the incident as quickly and safely as possible. There is no threat to the public," BNSF said.

A Boulder resident who passes by that area daily told Denver7 he can't help but wonder if the crash had anything to do with the row of empty freight cars sitting on the track for the last few weeks.

"Every day we go over that Foothills Parkway overpass and they're just sitting right under there. At first, you think, oh good, the toddler can point and say "Oh, trains!" But after a few weeks, I started to wonder, should those really still be there? That seems kind of strange," said Stuart Yates.

BNSF has not released what caused the crash or what the piece of equipment was that the train hit.

"I would like to know what is their system for keeping track of idle freight cars. It seems like a logistical nightmare. Do they know where all these assets are at any given time? How do the conductors get that information?" Yates wondered.

Denver7 took those questions to BNSF. A spokesperson said they cannot release any additional information while the investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Initially, Boulder police said the area along Pearl Parkway near 48th Street and Arapahoe Avenue would be closed for the next few days to conduct the investigation and cleanup. Part of Valmont Road was also blocked, according to Boulder police.

"The train itself is about a mile long so it will take some time to clean up and move the cars," Boulder police said.

Then the department said all roads reopened after 7 a.m. Friday.

Xcel Energy said its natural gas team responded to the scene of the crash to ensure a natural gas line in the area was not damaged.

Initially, Boulder police said, "Xcel is working on a power line that was affected."

But Xcel Energy media relations representative Michelle Aguayo said, "The incident did not impact our electric system. However, we currently have an electric power outage impacting 64 customers. This outage was taken for crew safety."

BNSF Railway took over the investigation and cleanup from Boulder police Friday morning.