Officials: Train Travels Several Miles after Brakes Malfunction

PALESTINE — Union Pacific officials are clarifying an incident involving a train that left a Palestine rail yard Sunday evening. They say a crew and trained engineer were on board the train when it malfunctioned. The officials tell KETK that the crew and engineer were at the yard on Spring Street moving railcars around the station. Just before 9:00 p.m., according to UP, the brakes malfunctioned, and the train began to roll northbound, parallel to Hwy. 79. The officials say the train continued to roll until it reached an uphill stretch of track about 5-7 miles from the station. That’s where the officials say the train came to a rest.

A spokesperson for Union Pacific says there was a lot of misinformation from various departments. She confirms that all crossing guards did go down, and traffic was alerted to the approaching train by an engineer on board blowing the horn. According to UP, local officials were notified immediately to put the safety measures in place, and nobody was injured.