【Text/Observer Network Qi Qian】The US logistics supply chain can be described as "chaotic and chaotic". According to the Associated Press reported on the 18th, a train derailed near Lincoln Heights in downtown Los Angeles, California on Saturday (15th), until the 17th, the staff is still carrying out rail repair work.
The cause of the derailment is unclear, but some experts speculate that this is likely to be caused by the courier box on the tracks. Not long ago, the loss of a train delivery near Lincoln Heights attracted national attention, and live video showed that the tracks were full of stolen courier boxes.
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Derailment in Lincoln Heights, downtown Los Angeles, video from social media
The derailed train is operated by the United Pacific Railway.
Union Pacific said in a statement that the accident caused 17 train cars to derail and did not injure anyone. Until the 17th local time, the staff was still cleaning up the mess and carrying out railway maintenance work.
"Staff continue to work around the clock, clearing tracks and working to reopen," the statement read. We did not estimate the time of reopening, and the cause of the accident is still under investigation. ”
Although the cause of the accident has not yet been clarified, Fox News quoted experts as saying that the train derailment is likely to be caused by garbage such as courier boxes left on the tracks.
The staff is cleaning up the scene of the accident, video screenshots
On January 14, local time, on a stretch of rail near Lincoln Heights in downtown Los Angeles, CBS Los Angeles photojournalist John Schreiber photographed "chicken feathers on the ground."
Schreiber wrote on Twitter that the scene was littered with stolen courier packages (cartons), "the floor was full of Amazon courier boxes, UPS courier boxes, unused COVID-19 test reagents ... The containers on the train were all opened."
Fox News wrote in the report that the railroad that transports the goods is operated by the United Pacific, which has its own police department and has primary jurisdiction over crimes committed on the railroad. However, law enforcement forces seem to have run out of steam.
In addition, a person familiar with the matter told CBS that the locks used by Union Pacific were easily cut.
In a letter to the Los Angeles District Attorney on Dec. 20 last year, California Gov. Guerrero noted that Union Pacific's railroad theft cases have risen 160 percent in the past year. But the situation is even more serious recently reported by the railway company: "In the past few months, thefts have increased by more than 200% year-on-year compared with the same period last year, and in October 2021 alone, thefts increased by 356% compared to October 2020." And not only are there thefts, but there is also an increase in attacks and armed robberies against employees on trains."
Union Pacific estimates that more than 90 packages are stolen every day, and in the past 3 months, the company has increased the number of security officers fighting crime and has arrested more than 100 suspects of breaching finances.
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