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Cracked Rail Caused 2012 Maryland Coal Train Derailment That Killed College Students

Nbcwashington · · 460 words · By Jessica Gresko
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What to know about Cracked Rail Caused 2012 Maryland Coal Train Derailment That Killed College Students

A coal train derailment that killed two Maryland college students was caused by a broken rail on a section of track being monitored by a railroad because of previous problems, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.

Claims checked 13
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

A coal train derailment that killed two Maryland college students was caused by a broken rail on a section of track being monitored by a railroad because of previous problems, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.

Why it matters

20, 2012 killed Rose Mayr and Elizabeth Nass, both 19, who were spending a summer night together before heading back to college.

Common ground

They were sitting on a railroad bridge in Ellicott City when 21 cars of the 80-car train derailed shortly before midnight.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/cracked-rail-caused-2012-maryland-coal-…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 13 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
schedule Pending 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 1
verified Verified By Reference 1
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Claim 1: “the Ellicott City derailment... caused about $2 million in property damage”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for the specific property damage amount of $2 million.
schedule
Claim 2: “following those three accidents, a Federal Railroad Administration committee has looked into the issue and earlier this year adopted a set of recommendations aimed at reducing similar accidents.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 3: “the area of the track where the derailment happened had been scheduled for a major overhaul”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of dictionary definitions of the word 'section' and does not contain information regarding a scheduled overhaul of the track.
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web search NEUTRAL — Section (bookbinding), a group of sheets, folded in the middle, bound into the binding together Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents Section sign (§), t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section
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web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of SECTION is the action or an instance of cutting or separating by cutting. How to use section in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Section.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/section
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web search NEUTRAL — Definition of section noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/englis…
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Claim 4: “The derailment of the CSX train on Aug. 20, 2012 killed Rose Mayr and Elizabeth Nass, both 19”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (Reuters, medical examiner reports, and news articles) confirm the date (Aug 20, 2012), the victims (Rose Mayr and Elizabeth Nass), and their age (19).
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The list of Harvard University alumni includes notable graduates, professors, and administrators affiliated with Harvard University. For a list of notable non-graduates of Harvard, see the list of Har…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Harvard_University_peo…
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web search NEUTRAL — Rose Mayr and Elizabeth Nass died of compressional asphyxia. Published August 23, 2012 • Updated on August 23, 2012 at 6:57 pm.A medical examiner has ruled on a cause of death for the two 19-year-olds…
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/cause-of-death-dete…
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web search NEUTRAL — "Both Nass and Mayr were buried under the coal as it dumped from the train cars." Tweets before derailment.Item 1 of 5 Workers begin righting an overturned freight train in Ellicott City, Maryland, Au…
https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/21/us-csx-derailment…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 5: “the rail showed evidence of wear that results from trains moving over the track, called "rolling contact fatigue."”
CORROBORATED
Web search results explicitly link the rail failure to 'rolling contact fatigue,' described as a gradual breakdown of the rail-head surface.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Intercity passenger service is provided nation-wide by Amtrak, with some links to Canada. A few smaller regional providers, including the Alaska Railroad, Brightline and some commuter rail systems lin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transportation_in_the_Uni…
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web search NEUTRAL — 1 (855) 955-RAIL (7245). We use cookies to create a better user experience, analyze site traffic, personalize content, and serve targeted ads. By using this site, you consent to cookie use. Learn more…
https://patriotrail.com/rail/salt-lake-garfield-western-rail…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of RAIL is a bar extending from one post or support to another and serving as a guard or barrier. How to use rail in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Rail.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rail
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Claim 6: “A coal train derailment that killed two Maryland college students was caused by a broken rail on a section of track being monitored by a railroad because of previous problems, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that the NTSB reported a broken rail caused the derailment that killed two Maryland college students.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On January 29, 2025, a Bombardier CRJ700 airliner operating as American Airlines Flight 5342 (operated by PSA Airlines as American Eagle) and a United States Army Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk helicopte…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Potomac_River_mid-air_col…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Francis Scott Key Bridge (informally, Key Bridge or Beltway Bridge) was a highway bridge that crossed the lower Patapsco River and outer Baltimore Harbor/Port. It was opened on March 23, 1977, to …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Scott_Key_Bridge_(Balt…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On March 26, 2024, the main spans and the three nearest northeast approach spans of the Francis Scott Key Bridge across the Patapsco River in the Baltimore metropolitan area of Maryland, United States…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Scott_Key_Bridge_colla…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 7: “They were sitting on a railroad bridge in Ellicott City when 21 cars of the 80-car train derailed shortly before midnight.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the derailment occurred on a bridge in Ellicott City, involving 21 cars of an 80-car train, and that the victims were sitting on the bridge.
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web search NEUTRAL — The damaged cars are being removed from the scene. Southworth said investigators will review video taken from inside the train and conduct an inspection of the track and signal system.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/freight-train-derailmen…
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web search NEUTRAL — Emergency workers found 21 cars of an 80-car freight train derailed or overturned. The cars contained coal only. Investigators believe the women were sitting on the edge with their backs to the side o…
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/tw…
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web search NEUTRAL — Of the 80 cars in the train, the first 21 derailed, with seven falling into a parking lot below the track. The train had been traveling 23 m.p.h. – below the speed limit for that section of track.
https://www.wbal.com/ellicott-city-train-derailment-in-2012-…
verified
Claim 8: “CSX was aware of rail problems and had been inspecting track in the area of the derailment every 30 days even though regulations only required a once-a-year inspection.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While some search results discuss CSX inspection frequencies in general or for other incidents, there is no specific evidence provided in the gathered results confirming the 'every 30 days' vs 'once-a-year' claim for this specific Ellicott City site.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The CSX 8888 incident, also known as the Crazy Eights incident, was a runaway train event involving a CSX Transportation freight train in the U.S. state of Ohio on May 15, 2001. Locomotive #8888, an E…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSX_8888_incident
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — CSX Corporation is an American holding company focused on rail transportation and real estate in North America, among other industries. The company was established in 1980 as part of the Chessie Syste…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSX_Corporation
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — CSX Transportation (reporting mark CSXT), known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSX_Transportation
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 9: “Mayr and Nass were buried in coal and died.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including news reports and witness accounts, state that Mayr and Nass were buried in coal as a result of the derailment.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The economic history of the United States spans the colonial era through the 21st century. The initial settlements depended on agriculture and hunting/trapping, later adding international trade, manuf…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_the_United…
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web search NEUTRAL — Friends Rose Mayr (right) and Elizabeth Nass, both 19-year-old college students, died in 2012 after being buried in coal during a train derailment in Maryland.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2911876/Families-2-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Rose Mayr and Elizabeth Nass, both 19, were killed early Tuesday when the train derailed on the bridge on which they were sitting, spilling coal and burying them, police said.
https://www.cnn.com/2012/08/22/us/maryland-train-derailment
+ 1 more evidence source
schedule
Claim 10: “the problem that led to the Ellicott City derailment... had similarities with a 2006 derailment in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, and a 2012 derailment in Columbus, Ohio.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 11: “Since the accident, CSX has also installed a fence to keep people off the bridge where the women were sitting.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 12: “The NTSB's 19-page report says an investigation revealed that a section of rail that caused the derailment showed evidence of a gradual breakdown.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results specifically mention the NTSB's 19-page report and its finding that the rail showed evidence of a gradual breakdown.
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web search NEUTRAL — Accident Reports are one of the main products of an NTSB investigation. Reports provide details about the accident, analysis of the factual data, conclusions and the probable cause of the accident, an…
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/Re…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 31, 2014 · The NTSB's 19-page report says an investigation revealed that a section of rail that caused the derailment showed evidence of a gradual breakdown. In particular, the...
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/cracked-rail-caused…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 31, 2014 · The section of rail, which was examined in the NTSB’s materials laboratory in Washington, showed evidence of rolling contact fatigue, a gradual breakdown of the rail-head surface.
https://www.wbal.com/ellicott-city-train-derailment-in-2012-…
help
Claim 13: “had been more heavily used in recent years because of the growth of shipping of coal overseas”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for the claim regarding increased usage due to overseas coal shipping.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.