Iarnrod Eireann has begun an investigation into how two trains collided at Glasnevin junction in Dublin last Thursday. One of the trains was carrying ammonia.
The Green Party yesterday called for an end to the transportation of chemicals through densely populated areas.
A spokesman for Iarnrod Eireann said it was recognised internationally that it was safer to transport dangerous chemicals by rail, and Iarnrod Eireann had been in the business for 20 years with only a small number of incidents. "But we are not complacent," he added.
The spokesman said the ammonia train was travelling from the Irish Fertiliser Industries (IFI) plant at Marino Point in Cork, where natural gas from the Kinsale field is turned into anhydrous ammonia. Its destination was the IFI plant at Shelton Abbey in Wicklow, where the ammonia is turned into fertiliser.
At 8.50 a.m. two of the ammonia containers, which were empty, and a wagon full of water left the rails. The water container protruded on to the parallel track and was struck by an oncoming goods train, which had just left Dublin Port en route to Cork. Both train crews immediately alerted the emergency services. They were on the scene within 10 minutes, the spokesman said. There was minor damage to the goods train locomotive but it was later able to resume its journey.
The most likely cause of the derailment was a fault on the track or a defect in the wheel structures of one of the last three carriages. The IFI trains travel daily on the main line from Cork to Dublin, passing through the Phoenix Park tunnel, Cabra and the Loop Line bridge to join the Rosslare line. Iarnrod Eireann's other customer for hazardous cargos is the Asahi plant in Killala, Co Mayo. An Asahi train was derailed near Tullamore in 1996 while returning empty to Dublin.
A Green MEP, Ms Patricia McKenna, called for an end to the practice of transporting toxic waste through some of the most populated parts of the country.
"This is a disaster waiting to happen, and today's incident is a warning that should be taken seriously," she said. "It is unacceptable that vast areas of Dublin are being put at risk every day with the IFI and Asahi toxic trains.
"The fact that IFI's ammonia plant is in Cork and their fertiliser plant is in Wicklow makes these journeys necessary. It is time IFI was forced to accept that the location of their plant is subjecting the public to unacceptable risk. IFI must reassess the ludicrous location of their plant and the risk which their ammonia train poses to public safety." she said. od Eireann spokesman said. "Those tanker containers are designed to withstand impact, not just derailment," he said.
Iarnrod Eireann warned yesterday that all train services between Connolly Station, Dublin, and Rosslare will be affected today and up to lunchtime on Sunday by engineering works between Bray and Greystones. The DART and buses will substitute for the mainline train between Connolly and Greystones.