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Freight car derails close to Union Station in downtown Portland

Fire officials said that this was a freight car carrying grain and there are no reported injuries.
Credit: Portland Police Bureau

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland police and firefighters responded to a derailed train car near Union Station and the Steel Bridge early Saturday afternoon, with the response temporarily snarling traffic in the area.

The incident was first reported around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Officials with Portland Fire & Rescue said it happened near Northwest Naito Parkway on the north side of the Steel Bridge.

The train car that derailed was a grain car on a freight train, PF&R said, and there were no reports of any injuries. A spokesperson said that the only hazards immediately identified were a broken hydraulic line and damaged rail.

"Avoid this area as traffic will be affected until this is clear," the agency said in a tweet.

Traffic was blocked for several hours on Northwest Naito Parkway from the Steel Bridge area north to roughly the 2900 block of Northwest Front Avenue, just north of Nicolai Street. Portland police tweeted before 2:45 p.m. that Naito had been fully reopened.

TriMet noted that the MAX Green, Yellow and Orange lines were impacted by the derailment and police response, but they resumed regular service shortly after 1:30 p.m. There were still expected to be some short delays through 2 p.m. as service returned to normal.

Firefighters and police were working with Union Pacific on the response.

In 2018, six freight train cars derailed near the Steel Bridge, similarly prompting a recovery effort. In that case, there were no injuries, hazardous material leaks or reported damage to the tracks.

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