Supply Chain Council of European Union | Scceu.org
Freight

Crews work to right train cars that derailed near LA site of recent wave of cargo thefts

Union Pacific crews worked to clear tracks on Sunday, Jan. 16, a day after a derailment snarled rail lines in Lincoln Heights — near an area where thousands of empty boxes were left behind by cargo thieves.

Thieves have been raiding cargo containers aboard trains nearing downtown Los Angeles for months, taking packages belonging to people across the U.S. and leaving the tracks blanketed with discarded boxes.

It wasn’t clear if the derailment was the result of debris left behind by cargo thieves, but images from the scene showed the ground littered with empty boxes from companies such as UPS and Amazon.

The packages are from retailers including Amazon, REI and others, CBSLA reported Thursday. The sea of debris includes items that the thieves apparently didn’t think were valuable enough to take.

“At this time, there is no estimated time for completion (of the derailment cleanup) and the cause remains under investigation,” Union Pacific spokeswoman Robynn Tysver said. “No one was injured.”

The derailment occurred around 4 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of San Pablo Street and Valley Boulevard, which was then blocked indefinitely, according to USC, which has its Health Science Campus nearby.

A total of 17 cars derailed, Union Pacific told KTLA.

Union Pacific has asked the L.A. County District’s Attorney’s Office to prosecute anyone arrested for the crimes.

“Some cases presented to our office by Union Pacific have been filed, such as burglary and grand theft, while others have been declined due to insufficient evidence,” the DA’s Office said in a statement provided to ABC7. “We make charging decisions based on the evidence. Our office takes Union Pacific’s concerns seriously and hopes to discuss this issue more in the coming weeks.”

Chaotic scenes have been witnessed on rail lines in recent weeks.

Last week, while CBSLA cameras were on the scene, one person was spotted running off with a container used to hold small packages, and a Union Pacific railroad police officer was spotted pursuing two other people who were apparently going through packages.

The scene was the same in November, when NBC4 showed thousands of boxes discarded along the tracks lined with homeless encampments northeast of downtown in the Lincoln Park area.

Union Pacific said in a statement to CBSLA that the railroad was concerned about increased cargo thefts in California.

“We have increased the number of Union Pacific special agents on patrol, and we have utilized and explored additional technologies to help us combat this criminal activity. We also will continue to work with our local law enforcement partners and elected leaders,” the railroad said.

Amazon said it was directing inquiries to police. The United Parcel Service declined to comment on investigations into the cargo thefts but said it was cooperating with authorities.

“The safety of our customers’ goods and our employees is our highest priority,” UPS said in a statement.

The retail supply line has been beset by problems amid the enduring coronavirus pandemic.

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