HUNTLEY, Mont. — Nine cars of a Montana Rail Link freight train en route to Denver derailed near here late Sunday, but officials said there were no injuries, the Associated Press reported.
Lynda Frost, a spokeswoman for the railroad in Missoula, said it appeared a broken rail may have caused the derailment, but the incident is still being investigated.
“At this point, we don’t know how or why it broke, but we feel confident that is the cause of the derailment,” she said Monday.
Frost said crews initially believed one of the cars, containing the fertilizer compound ammonium nitrate, had leaked some of the powdery substance. However, she said a closer inspection showed the car was intact.
“We now believe that the powdery substance found at the site was probably just some residue that was on the outside of the car,” she said.
The 103-car freight train was on its way from Laurel to Denver when it derailed at about 10 p.m. Frost said all the cars remained upright. The two crewmen on board were not injured.
Frost said train traffic was being diverted onto a sidetrack at the derailment site, but officials expected to have the main track reopened by late morning Monday.