CSX Transportation
The cost of the train derailment and fire remains undetermined. CSX Transportation faces millions of dollars of clean-up costs and reimbursement payments to the State of Maryland and the City of Baltimore. On July 25, 2001, during a meeting at Baltimore’s City Hall, CSX agreed to pay the overtime costs for the fire, police and public works forces related to the fire. CSX indicated, however, that the payment should not be construed as an acknowledgement of blame or fault. The cause of the derailment is still under investigation. The city initially estimated the clean-up to cost about $1.3 million.
Meanwhile, CSX canvassed the business establishments within the affected area to solicit claims for business losses resulting from the emergency. With the cause of the derailment still under investigation, CSX ran a full-page advertisement in the Baltimore Sun, entitled “Thanks, Baltimore!” The advertisement, addressed to the citizens of Baltimore, thanked the mayor, fire chief, “the courageous professionals of the Baltimore City Fire Department,” and the emergency response personnel for their “tireless efforts, leadership and professionalism” following the derailment. It also thanked the community for its patience and support.
Major League Baseball Impacted
The Baltimore Orioles baseball team also was affected by the train derailment and fire. The rising black smoke coming from the tunnel traveled toward nearby Camden Yards Stadium–home of the Baltimore Orioles–where a game was in process. Public safety officials were forced to evacuate the stadium where the Baltimore Orioles were hosting a double-header day game. Ultimately, the Orioles postponed four games in three days because of public safety concerns, estimating the loss at $4.5 million. By Saturday, July 21, the baseball game between the Anaheim Angels and the Baltimore Orioles was played in spite of the fact that Howard Street was still closed between Mount Royal Avenue and Pratt Street. Interestingly, that game was "Fire Fighters’ Appreciation Night," a commemoration that had been planned long before the derailment occurred.
General Business
The City of Baltimore issued a liberal leave policy for employees, as did the State of Maryland for its employees at State Center. As utility workers, police, and firefighters labored on Howard Street, two large office buildings and several other businesses along the road were shut down. The downtown business district and Howard Street especially, took a huge economic hit from the train fire. The director of economics for the Maryland Business Research Partnership stated, “You have to worry about Howard Street. If the damage is big enough, businesses could be closed for months. They suffered through light rail being built and hard economic times already.”
Fiber Optic Networks Affected
When the CSX Transportation freight train derailed and caught fire, fiber optic cables serving several large carriers were damaged. The Director of Operations for Metromedia Fiber Network (MFN), located in Baltimore, noted that it was immediately apparent that they would not be able to access the cables in the tunnel anytime soon, given the situation with the fire and hazardous materials. Although backup systems kicked in immediately, MFN was determined to restore full redundancy to its network as quickly as possible.
The fiber optic network company, city officials, and a major telecommunications company worked together to manage the process of rerouting cable through a maze of conduits accessible by manholes beneath the center of the city. Although a large portion of the recovery route already had been set up for possible use, workers had to clear blockages in at least four locations–a task that included digging up the street and rerouting the line. To restore full redundancy to its network, the fiber optic network company deployed emergency crews to re-route 24,000 feet of fiber through a maze of city conduit in 36 hours.
A construction services company completed a new fiber optic loop around the downtown tunnel where the derailment had damaged cables that transport Internet data, e-mail, and phone calls. Crews had nearly completed installing 30,000 feet of fiber when they were stymied by thick mud that was discovered in underground ducts along Light Street.
Media reports stated that a Silicon Valley company tracking Internet traffic said the train accident caused the worst congestion in cyberspace in the three years that it has monitored such data. The link through Baltimore “is basically the I-95 of Internet traffic into and out of Washington,” said the Director of Public Services for a company that monitors Internet flow by the hour on its Web site. The accident had almost no impact in some areas, including parts of Baltimore, while certain connections were 10 times slower than normal, such as the ones between Washington, D.C., and San Diego.
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