Some businesses will need to make major repairs to fix the damage caused by a train derailment in North Knoxville late Saturday night.
A train with Norfolk Southern derailed near Inskip Drive, sending 19 rail cars off the tracks. No one was hurt, and the cars were not carrying any hazardous material.
According to a Norfolk Southern spokesperson, all 19 cars were removed within 24 hours of the derailment. Rail service resumed Monday morning at reduced speeds.
Crews need to finish some track work, but that will not affect train operations. The rail cars cannot be repaired, and contractors will have to remove the cars. The spokesperson could not say when the work might be finished.
As of Monday afternoon, Inskip Drive remained closed between Fennel and Coster roads.
Alan Monhollan owns Fiber Tech, a boat repair service, and leases space on Inskip Drive. The property manager was on scene Monday, but said he did not want to make a comment at this point.
Monhollan said he got a call from a neighbor alerting him to the derailment and damage Saturday night. He said no customer boats were damaged, but some of his own boats were. He said insurance can cover some of the damage, but for now he is “out of business.”
“You just kind of walk in to look at it, and you know, what do you say?” Monhollan said. “It’s devastating.”
Monhollan’s focus is on what to do next.
“Get this mess cleaned up and get back to work,” he said.
Across the tracks, Gerdau, a steel business, appeared to have damage as well. Managers at the Coster Street location said they could not make a comment, and a spokesperson for the company has not yet responded to request for comment.
Other businesses along the tracks said they had minimal or no damage at all.
A spokesperson for Knox County Schools said classes at nearby Inskip Elementary School were not affected by the derailment.