No one has answered the question originally asked, which is a freight claim question. By Federal Law rail carriers operate under a strict liability system in terms of freight claims. That means the railroad will pay the owner of the goods their value at origin unless one of a few narrow exceptions apply, which they do not in a derailment situation. Shippers and recievers do not typically insure their goods while in rail transit because the railroad is strictly liable 99.9% of the time.
Since the derailment is locatable, the carrier transporting the product at the time of damage is liable.
Ed is correct that the railrods carry insurance against catastrohic loss, but for a class I carreier the deducible is so high that the insurance never comes into play. For the class I the cost of the lost product is simply an item of operating expense. Short lines often have lower deductible policies, so their insurance company may pay the carrier something in connection with the accident, but it will be after the carrier pays the freight claim.
Mac
