(The following report appeared on The Billings Gazette website on January 24.)
BILLINGS, Mont. — Rail lines near the Sixth Street Overpass were reopening Wednesday night after being closed all day because of a derailment.
By 9:30 p.m., the westbound main line was repaired and moving trains through to their postponed destinations. The eastbound mainline was expected to be running by 11 p.m.
Eight cars loaded with corn went off the tracks at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning.
A cause for the derailment, about 11⁄2 miles west of downtown, has not been determined, Gus Melonas, BNSF Railway spokesman, said from his office in Seattle.
“There are a wide variety of reasons for derailments,” said Brent Erickson, a supervisor for the Laurel-Billings area. “Sometimes it’s mechanical. Sometimes it’s an engineering problem or track structure. Sometimes it’s an operator error. And sometimes it’s just Mother Nature.”
Two of the eight cars fell on their sides on the tracks, but the rest remained upright. Some corn spilled onto the ground, which is being cleaned up. No injuries were reported, and no crossings were blocked.
Five cars are off to the side, and three have been rerailed.
The BNSF train with three engines and 190 cars was on its way from Madison, S.D., to Kalama, Wash., when the derailment occurred at 8:08 a.m. Both main rail lines were blocked.