(The following story by Helen J. Simon appeared on the Burlington Free Press website on August 16.)
BURLINGTON, Vt. — A derailment by a New England Central Railroad train in White River Junction closed the track for about six hours Friday and forced the busing of dozens of Amtrak passengers, but no one was injured, rail officials said.
Six cars went off the track just north of the crossing near Nutt Lane about 3:30 p.m. Friday, NECR general manager Charles Hunter said Saturday.
The cars, which were among 50 pulled by a northbound locomotive traveling from Palmer, Mass., to St. Albans, included five that were empty and one full of soybean grain, he said.
“There were no injuries, nothing on public property,” Hunter said.
He said the track reopened about 9:30 p.m. Friday and was completely cleared by 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
The railroad, which owns both the train and the track, is headquartered in St. Albans and owned by Florida-based RailAmerica.
Hunter said he didn’t know what led to the derailment, but that such events are not common.
“There will be an investigation into what happened,” Hunter said, adding that the internal probe could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
The track closing forced Amtrak to bus passengers between Brattleboro and St. Albans Friday on the northbound Vermonter train 56 originating in Washington, D.C., said Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero.
About 85 passengers were dropped off at the same stations served by the train, she said. The last passengers arrived in St. Albans by bus about 1:55 a.m. Saturday, instead of at 9:35 p.m. Friday as scheduled, she said.
Similarly, about 85 passengers were picked up by bus Saturday morning along the route traveled by southbound Vermonter train 57 between St. Albans and Brattleboro, she said. They were put on a Washington, D.C.-bound train in Brattleboro and were running about an hour late as of 2:20 p.m., she said.
“Sunday we expect a completely normal schedule,” Romero said.