Vandalism on decommissioned rail cars suspected as cause for accident on Valley Boulevard
By Ava Uhlack, September 16, 2025
A set of four decommissioned rail cars derailed Wednesday around 3:45 p.m. blocking the intersection of Valley Boulevard and West Temple Avenue for more than seven hours and causing deep gashes to the asphalt.
There were no injuries, but according to a statement from Union Pacific, the preliminary investigation shows suspected vandalism caused the derailment.
The Pomona Police Department, Union Pacific and Hulcher Professional Services arrived on the scene to remove the rail cars off the street. The entirety of the cleanup, including the time spent waiting for the cranes to arrive, was approximately four to five hours.
Pomona PD mitigated heavy traffic at the intersection until 10:50 p.m. when the streets reopened to keep cars from turning into the crash site. But passing pedestrians were able to get up close to the empty rail cars, and some even climbed on top of the rail car, according to witnesses and Poly Post reporters on the scene at the time.
“I was driving and then saw the whole street was closed down,” said Kayla Diaz, a pre-vet animal science student. “I didn’t even know that trains were allowed on this track. Too many accidents were happening with the train coming through this intersection, so they had this passageway decommissioned. I’ve never seen a train come through here and I’ve lived here my whole life.”
Before the accident occurred, the decommissioned rail cars were stored on the two-mile-long portion of the railway between Temple Avenue and the 71 Freeway, The Daily Bulletin reported. According to the Temple Avenue Train Diversion Fact Sheet, the set of tracks were decommissioned to eliminate train traffic from the crossings at both Temple Avenue and Pomona Boulevard.
The cost of the Temple Avenue Train diversion project was $94.7 million. Most of the work took place between fall 2008 and spring 2010, but the auxiliary work from the UPRR concluded in 2018.
Residents in the area were concerned about the rail cars becoming an unattractive nuisance since a portion of the tracks runs near homes and around Cesar Chavez Park, according to an article by The Daily Bulletin.
According to Hulcher Services workers on the scene, the rail cars will be inspected, and any damage will be fixed after the accident. The Poly Post since confirmed the train is now reassembled and back on the tracks.
Featured images and video courtesy of Gerardo Sanchez