(The Billings Gazette posted the following article on its website on July 3.)
MILES CITY, Mont. — Crews reopened the BNSF Railway tracks here Saturday after a derailment a day earlier.
A coal train from the Powder River Basin of southeastern Montana derailed Friday afternoon, spilling coal, closing major intersections and disrupting both train and vehicle traffic, BNSF and city officials said.
There were no injuries.
BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas in Seattle said the tracks were cleared and normal traffic was restored about 11:30 a.m. Saturday. He said BNSF was investigating the derailment and that wreckage and debris from the incident would be removed over the next month.
Two main intersections, one near the Custer County Courthouse and the other near City Hall, were closed by the derailment, and two other intersections were affected. But alternate routes for vehicles were available, Police Chief Lissa Power said.
The train was traveling at 28 mph when the fourth coal car behind the locomotive malfunctioned and derailed eight cars behind it, BNSF said.