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NTSB Says Loose Joint Caused Deadly Train Derailment In Arlington

ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - A loose, improperly fastened rail joint led to a 2017 derailment in an Arlington rail switching yard that killed a worker, the National Transportation Safety Board released Tuesday.

A misaligned rail joint allowed the flange of a freight car wheel to climb the rail and derail in the Union Pacific Great Southwest switching yard in Arlington on the morning of Sept. 22, 2017, killing yard worker Jon Beckman, 48, of Frisco, the NTSB said in a report.

Arlington train derailment 2017
Arlington train derailment September 2017 (credit: NTSB).

The track near Globe Life Park was exempt from federal rail track safety standards, allowing inadequate track conditions to exist on the regularly used track, the NTSB reported last week.

The agency didn't explain why the track was exempt.

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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