(The following article by Kevin Hoffmann was posted on the Kansas City Star website on May 19.)
KANSAS CITY — Railway officials were working to repair a track on Kansas City’s West Side after a train derailed early this morning.
A BNSF Railway train was hauling mixed freight from Laurel, Mont., to Tulsa, Okla., about 1 a.m. when 10 cars left the track near 25th and Mercier streets. Two cars overturned.
Steve Forsberg, a BNSF spokesman, said the derailment shouldn’t slow train traffic in the area as alternate routes were available. Even passenger trains moving through the area shouldn’t be affected, he said.
“Just the rear 10 cars were involved and most of them were empty,” he said. “There was one load of rock, one load of lumber… The tanker cars that were involved all were empty.”
Kansas City firefighters, including a hazardous materials response team, were dispatched to the scene. Forsberg said officials expected the track repairs to be completed by 6 p.m. today.