(The Bismarck Tribune posted the following article from the Associated Press on its website on July 8.)
BISMARCK, N.D. — Coal trains were moving again Monday on the main Burlington Northern and Santa Fe east-west line while officials cleaned up coal from a weekend derailment.
Thirty-six cars of the BNSF coal train derailed Saturday near the State Penitentiary. No one was hurt.
Railroad officials say determining the cause could take as long as two weeks.
BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas said the line was open again shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday. The railroad had been rerouting traffic through Minot and Galesburg, Ill., since the derailment.
Officials had not determined Monday how much coal spilled, Melonas said. Each car can hold more than 100 tons of coal.
Melonas said he did not have an estimate Monday on what the derailment and cleanup would cost the railroad.