(The following story by Bev Darr appeared on the Hannibal Courier-Post website on December 21, 2009.)
HANNIBAL, Mo. — As many travelers were stranded in airports closed by the weekend’s blizzard, hundreds of travelers closer to Hannibal also had an unexpected change of plans on Saturday and Sunday.
Amtrak riders in much of Illinois found themselves taking buses instead of trains after a freight train derailment at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, in Illinois stopped the Amtrak trips south of Chicago.
The ticket holders were instead given bus rides from Chicago to Galesburg, Ill., and from Galesburg to Quincy, Ill., according to Bethany Trudell, an Amtrak reservation sales agent based in southern California.
No one was reported to have been injured in the derailment, Trudell said, and the cause was unknown.
Nearly 20 cars of a BNSF train were involved in the derailment, which was 52 miles east of Galesburg, she said.
Amtrak uses freight train tracks in much of the country, Trudell explained. “There are very few links we actually own,” she said. “We own tracks in the Northeast and in the Seattle area. Most of what we run is on freight lines, so we take a back seat to them.”
The Amtrak schedule has two daily trips, a morning and an evening, between Quincy and Chicago, with stops along the way.
Trudell did not know how soon the track would be restored, so Amtrak trips could resume, but she noted it could be by 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21. For information call Amtrak at 800-872-7245.
Meanwhile, no trips are being booked, she said, and all rail traffic was stopped in the area.
This came at a bad time for Amtrak, she added. “We are being swamped right now, and on top of that, it’s holiday travel. It’s really busy.”
At 9 p.m. Sunday, Steve Forsberg, BNSF general director of external relations, explained that one of the two tracks at the derailment location may be open by 5 p.m. Monday and the second by 7 p.m. Monday.
More details about the derailment will be reported in Tuesday’s Courier-Post.