A recent National Transportation Safety Board report detailing a September natural gas pipeline leak near Cheyenne that sent a massive fireball into the darkened sky and damaged a Union Pacific train carrying hazardous materials paints a chaotic picture of crew members valiantly navigating railcars amid a blaze and subsequent explosion.
Although the preliminary report does not specifically state the cause of the Kinder Morgan Inc. pipeline breach, which remains under investigation, it offers a timeline for the mishap and the response of UP workers.
“Union Pacific is cooperating with the NTSB and local authorities to finalize the investigation,” UP spokesman Mike Jaixen said Wednesday in an email.
The NTSB has prohibited Kinder Morgan from commenting while the investigation is pending, said Taylor Smith, who is a company spokesperson.
The Explosion
Events leading up to the accident began Sept. 20, at 11:07 p.m., when Kinder Morgan’s supervisory control and data acquisition system detected a pressure drop on an underground 22-inch natural gas transmission pipeline that crosses Union Pacific tracks west of Cheyenne, according to the NTSB's Oct. 29 report.
Kinder Morgan gas controllers began contacting compressor stations at 11:40 p.m. to investigate the pressure drop.
About 90 minutes later, a westbound UP train was traveling on main track 3 near milepost 534 when the crew, consisting of an engineer and conductor, encountered what they described as dust or a vapor cloud near the track.
“The crew noticed a fire behind the third locomotive and the train’s engines unexpectedly shut down,” the report states. “The pipeline had ruptured next to the train tracks, and the released gas ignited and exploded as the train passed; however, the train did not derail.”
The crew then stopped the train and safely escaped.
When emergency responders arrived at the scene, they interviewed the crew members and determined that the train consisted of five locomotives and 227 railcars, of which 70 cars were empty.
Of the 157 loaded railcars, 57 were carrying hazardous materials. Also, highly flammable alcohol items were being transported in 35 cars.
Due to exposure from the natural gas fire, two of the railcars carrying ethanol began venting through a pressure relief device, according to the NTSB.
A Kinder Morgan gas technician shut down two mainline valves to isolate a portion of the pipeline that had ruptured.
The Investigation
At the scene, NTSB investigators reviewed Kinder Morgan’s policies and procedures and the train crew’s employee records.
They also examined video footage from the head-end locomotive and drone imagery; collected physical evidence; and conducted interviews.
The explosion drew numerous emergency responders to the scene.
Laramie County Fire District No. 10 crews were also dispatched after receiving reports of explosions and flames visible from 60 miles away, said Daniel Streetman, a firefighter and spokesman for the fire district.
“You could see the glow from town (Cheyenne) as we responded, and we had reports from Colorado that they could see it,” he told Cowboy State Daily following the incident. “The Larimer County Dispatch (in Colorado) called because people could see it from Wellington (Colorado).”
Brendan John was among those area residents awakened in the middle of the night to see the "insane" glow of fire in the darkness.
“I woke up last night for a possible black bear on our security camera,” he said. “Instead, I see what looked like another sun rising, until zooming in. The size of the fire was absolutely insane. Literally pulsing light in the sky from such an intense fire as you can see in the video. I'm glad everybody on the train got out safe.”
Contact Scott Schwebke at scott@cowboystatedaily.com
(Video courtesy: Michelle Emme)
Scott Schwebke can be reached at scott@cowboystatedaily.com.
