Big Bayou Canot rail accident

Big Bayou Canot rail accident
The wreck of the Sunset Limited at Big Bayou Canot
Big Bayou Canot rail accident is located in Alabama
Big Bayou Canot rail accident
Big Bayou Canot rail accident is located in the United States
Big Bayou Canot rail accident
Details
DateSeptember 22, 1993
2:53 am
LocationMobile, Alabama, U.S.
Coordinates30°49′02″N 87°59′36″W / 30.8173°N 87.9932°W / 30.8173; -87.9932
CountryUnited States
LineM&M Subdivision
OperatorAmtrak
ServiceSunset Limited
Incident typeDerailment
CauseBarge collision with bridge / wrong design[1]
Statistics
Trains1
Passengers220
Deaths47
Injured103

On September 22, 1993, an Amtrak Sunset Limited passenger train derailed on the CSX Transportation Big Bayou Canot Bridge near Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was caused by displacement of a span and deformation of the rails when a tow of heavy barges collided with the rail bridge eight minutes earlier. Forty-seven people were killed and 103 more were injured.[1] To date, it is the deadliest train wreck in both Amtrak's history and Alabama's railway history. It is also the worst rail disaster in the United States since the 1958 Newark Bay rail accident, in which 48 people died.

  1. ^ a b "Derailment of Amtrak Train NO. 2 on the CSXT Big Bayou Canot Bridge Accident Report". National Transportation Safety Board. September 19, 1994. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2018. - See copy of the entire report at the U.S. Department of Transportation.