(The Great Falls Tribune posted the following Associated Press article to its website on July 24.)
WHITEFISH, Mont. — A westbound Burlington Northern-Santa Fe train derailed 85 miles west of here along the Kootenai River Tuesday evening, closing the entire northern mainline route across Montana’s Hi-Line.
No one was injured and no hazardous materials were involved in the 6:55 p.m. derailment, said BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas. No cars were in the river.
The unexpected halt in rail service comes just as the state’s grain harvest is getting underway, but didn’t appear to create too many problems.
The line is expected to be back in service by this morning, Melonas said. Up to 35 trains in a 24-hour period use the northern mainline route across Montana.
“Wrecking equipment has arrived on the site,” Melonas said Wednesday. “They’re basically shoving the derailed cars off to the side. Fortunately, there’s significant clearance where cars can be shoved to the side.”
Rail cars had already arrived at Columbia Grain’s elevator in Carter when the train derailed, so crews were loading the freshly harvested winter wheat for shipment.
“We are trying to move some cars around in Eastern Montana, but there aren’t rail crews to do it because they are working on the derailment,” said Karen Svenby, traffic manager for Columbia Grain.
About 50 to 60 percent of the winter wheat harvest near Fort Benton is complete, said Rick Teeters, manager of Cenex Harvest States Elevator. Grain yields and quality are above last year’s crop, he said.
“We are not filling cars right now, so it isn’t a problem,” Teeters said.
Amtrak bused passengers between Spokane, Wash., and Whitefish to avoid the derailment, while BNSF detoured some train traffic via Montana Rail Link’s southern route.
The train had four locomotives and 74 cars and was en route from Chicago to Tacoma, Wash. The first car to derail was the ninth car from the front, Melonas said. He said initial reports indicate up to seven multiple-trailer units and four single trailer cars derailed.
The cause of the derailment is under investigation.