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Authorities in Nebraska do not expect any lingering issues following an explosion on Thursday of a railroad shipping container carrying an acid used to make explosives. The explosion took place at the largest railyard in the world in North Platte, Nebraska. Fortunately, the chemical largely burned off and any residue was contained at the scene. Air and soil testing in the region never showed any dangerous levels, according to Associated Press.
No one was injured in the blast at Union Pacific’s (UNP) massive railyard in North Platte, and no structures were damaged. A precautionary evacuation of a one-mile area right around the fire only involved a few farmsteads for several hours because the fire happened in the west end of the railyard near the edge of town. Reports indicated that the fire did not spread beyond the shipping container on top of the one that exploded to the rest of the parked train. A team from the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency that happened to be passing through the area on the way to a training session in Western Nebraska reportedly was able to offer their expertise quickly.
The railroad sector has been on high alert following the Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) derailment earlier in the year in the eastern part of Ohio. That crash prompted national attention and a major focus within the industry on rail safety. A massive cleanup effort is still ongoing in East Palestine, Ohio.
Notably, the head of the Federal Railroad Administration did indicate recently that inspectors found an alarming number of defects among the freight cars and locomotives in use at the North Platte railyard, during an inspection this summer. But there was not any immediate indication that Thursday’s explosion were linked to those defects. Trinity Industries (TRN) traded 1.4% lower on Friday, while FreightCar America (RAIL) was up 1.9%.
Rails watch: Norfolk Southern (NSC) is down 17.2% on a year-to-date basis. Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) is 2.2% lower and CSX Corporation (CSX) is off 0.4%. Meanwhile, Canadian Pacific (CNP) is up 7.1% and Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) is 3.0% higher. CSX and UNP have the highest Seeking Alpha Quant Ratings in the sector. Greenbrier (GBX) has the highest percentage of short interest on it within the sector.
