LANSING, Mich. — A wire service reports that a broken railroad track caused the Memorial Day train derailment that forced 2,200 Potterville residents to evacuate, according to the company that owns the train.
Jack Burke, a spokesman for Canadian National Railway Co., said a fracture within the rail wasn’t detected by officials during their twice-weekly inspections.
The Federal Railroad Administration said Monday it is still investigating, and expects its report by the end of the summer.
Residents were forced to evacuate for four days because some of the overturned train cars were carrying explosive liquid propane and toxic sulfuric acid.
Potterville is about 12 miles southwest of Lansing and 90 miles west of Detroit.