( CNN ) -- A broken rail caused a train derailment near Baltimore two years ago that killed two young women sitting on a railroad bridge , the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday . A CSX coal train derailed on a railroad bridge in Ellicott City , Maryland , just before midnight on August 20 , 2012 . Elizabeth Nass and Rose Mayr , both 19 , were killed `` when coal spilled out of the rail cars during the derailment . '' The train had been traveling 23 mph , and the first 21 of the 80 cars in the train derailed . Seven cars fell into a parking lot . `` The presence in the rail right-of-way of the two fatally injured persons , whose unauthorized access placed them in harm 's way , did not contribute to the derailment in any way , '' the board said . `` The NTSB investigation found that the point of derailment was a rail fracture several hundred feet before the bridge . The section of rail , which was examined in the NTSB 's materials laboratory in Washington , showed evidence of rolling contact fatigue , a gradual breakdown of the rail-head surface . '' The derailed train also damaged fiber-optic lines and temporarily disrupted Internet service at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , delaying the trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others facing terrorism charges this week , a base spokesman said at the time . The facility lost about 50 % of its connectivity , which is serviced by satellite downlink locations in Maine and Maryland . The Federal Railroad Administration started a Rail Failure Working Group `` to study the effects of rail-head wear and resulting rail surface conditions '' as a result of this and other incidents . The Rail Safety Advisory Committee adopted its recommendations in April . CSX put a chain-link fence on the right-of-way in an effort to halt trespassing . There will be a public forum in 2015 `` to explore and educate the public about the dangers associated with unauthorized individuals in the railroad right-of-way . '' In 2013 : Freight train hits truck and derails in Maryland ; it felt 'like an earthquake '
Presence of women on bridge did not cause derailment near Washington , Guantanamo says . Internet service at Guantanamo disrupted after accient . Rose Mayr and Elizabeth Nass , both 19 , were killed . This and other incidents spur Guantanamo .