(The Associated Press distributed the following article on August 11.)
WILLISTON, N.D. — Freight and passenger trains began rolling again through northwestern North Dakota on Wednesday, a day after a derailment that damaged and blocked the tracks and spilled hundreds of tons of corn.
“The main line was reopened at 7:05 a.m.,” Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesman Gus Melonas said. “All traffic is moving through.”
Amtrak, which uses the same line for its Empire Builder route between Chicago and Seattle, bused passengers 385 miles between Minot, N.D., and Havre, Mont., on Tuesday. Rail service between the cities resumed Wednesday morning, spokesman Marc Magliari said.
The westbound train that was due in Williston at 11:07 a.m. arrived about 11⁄2 hours late. Magliari said delays after a track shutdown typically are due to backlogged traffic and reduced speeds in the area while the new sections of track settle.
“We’ll operate through there. We’ll just be delayed a bit,” he said.
Thirty-one of the 110 cars on the BNSF train jumped the tracks around 2:15 a.m. Tuesday, on the southwestern outskirts of Williston. No one was injured. The train was en route from Clarkfield, Minn., to Seattle.
The cause of the wreck was still being investigated Wednesday. Melonas said sabotage had been ruled out.
Sections of the track had to be replaced after the damaged rail cars were moved. Melonas said most of the cars will be cut for scrap over the next three weeks.
The corn was being vacuumed into semitrailers and taken to a nearby grain elevator for possible salvage. Melonas estimated the cleanup could run through the week.
He said no estimates on damage or on the amount of spilled corn would be available until late in the week.