Freight Train Derailment, Fire Forced Interstate 40 Closure Near Arizona-New Mexico Line

A freight train carrying fuel derailed and caught fire Friday near the Arizona-New Mexico state line, forcing the closure of an interstate highway that serves as a key trucking route.

Initial passersby posted video and photos on social media of crumpled train cars and billowing, black smoke.

No injuries were reported in the midday train wreck near Lupton, Arizona.

Interstate 40 was closed by authorities in both directions in the area in the early afternoon, directing trucks and motorists off the freeway to alternate routes, New Mexico State Police and the Arizona Department of Public Safety announced.

Nearby residences and a truck stop were evacuated as a precaution as winds carried away thick smoke and local firefighting crews responded. The derailment also led Amtrak to cancel some passenger travel, including on the route between Los Angeles and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Arizona Corporation Commission that oversees railroad safety said in a social media post on X that 10 rail cars were involved in the derailment and that two were transporting liquid petroleum.

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Topics
Trucking
Mexico
New Mexico
Arizona