Big Bayou Canot rail accident
| Big Bayou Canot rail accident | |
|---|---|
The wreck of the Sunset Limited at Big Bayou Canot | |
| Details | |
| Date | September 22, 1993 2:53 am |
| Location | Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 30°49′02″N 87°59′36″W / 30.8173°N 87.9932°W |
| Country | United States |
| Line | M&M Subdivision |
| Operator | Amtrak |
| Service | Sunset Limited |
| Incident type | Derailment |
| Cause | Barge collision with bridge / wrong design |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 |
| Passengers | 220 |
| Deaths | 47 |
| Injured | 103 |
On September 22, 1993, an Amtrak Sunset Limited passenger train derailed on the CSX Transportation Big Bayou Canot Bridge near Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was caused by displacement of a span and deformation of the rails when a tow of heavy barges collided with the rail bridge eight minutes earlier. Forty-seven people were killed and 103 more were injured. To date, it is the deadliest train wreck in both Amtrak's history and Alabama's railway history. It is also the worst rail disaster in the United States since the 1958 Newark Bay rail accident, in which 48 people died.