A freight train derailed in Springville, St. Clair County, on Thursday afternoon, prompting emergency officials to order an evacuation of the area surrounding Industrial Drive and Walker Drive. The evacuation area included Buckner Trailers, and residents and members of the public were asked to leave the designated area and avoid it until it was deemed safe to return. The order was lifted at 6 p.m. Thursday.
According to WBMA, authorities established a 2,000-foot evacuation radius around the incident area and instructed anyone inside it to leave and stay away until emergency officials gave the all-clear. The evacuation order was lifted at 6 p.m. Thursday. Norfolk Southern attributed the derailment to a collision with a tractor-trailer at a crossing. The railroad's initial assessment was that 34 railcars and two locomotives derailed; no injuries or hazardous-material leaks were reported.
The derailment happened around 2 p.m. Thursday, according to CNAW2News, which noted it was the second freight train derailment reported in Alabama that same afternoon. Earlier Thursday, a separate derailment occurred in Maplesville, in Chilton County, near Highway 22 and Railroad Street, blocking Main Street, as reported by Cedar News. That incident involved no injuries and no hazardous materials, per the same outlet's account.
Road Closures and the Business Caught in the Perimeter
A Springville Police Department public safety notice relayed via Facebook stated that local roads were closed from Industrial Drive past Mountain View Road to enforce the evacuation perimeter around the derailment zone. The closures effectively cordon off the industrial corridor where the derailment took place, keeping both vehicle and foot traffic out of the area while crews respond.
Buckner Trailers, the business located within the evacuation zone at 100 Industrial Drive, is a custom trailer fabrication, refurbishing, and repair company that has operated in Springville since 2010, according to the company's own records. Its presence inside the perimeter is part of why the surrounding industrial stretch was cleared, though officials have not detailed how the business itself was affected by the response.
Whose Rail Line Runs Through Springville
The rail line that passes through Springville is associated with Norfolk Southern and routes freight between Birmingham and Chattanooga, Tennessee, according to rail industry operational logs compiled on Trainorders. Local officials ordered a 2,000-foot evacuation distance around the incident.
A State With a Troubled Rail Safety Record
Thursday's twin derailments land against a backdrop of persistent rail safety concerns in Alabama. Operation Lifesaver reported, using preliminary Federal Railroad Administration data, that Alabama ranked 7th nationally in 2025 for highway-rail grade crossing collisions, recording 87 collisions, 8 fatalities, and 48 injuries. World Population Review has separately reported that Alabama logged between 100 and 255 total train accidents from 2018 through 2021, placing it among the top 15 states for overall rail accidents during that span.
The state has also seen deadlier rail incidents in recent years. Progressive Railroading reported that in January 2026, the National Transportation Safety Board issued a preliminary report on a December 2025 CSX train collision and derailment near Calera that killed a train conductor during track switching maneuvers. And in March 2023, a 37-car Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in rural Calhoun County, Alabama, on the same morning the company's chief executive testified before Congress about a major hazardous materials derailment in Ohio, the Associated Press reported at the time.
Norfolk Southern attributed the Springville derailment to a collision with a tractor-trailer at a crossing. The railroad's initial assessment was that 34 railcars and two locomotives derailed; no injuries or hazardous-material leaks were reported, and CNAW2News reported that no hazardous materials were involved. The evacuation order was lifted at 6 p.m. Thursday.
