AUSTIN — A freight train derailed on the outskirts of town early Tuesday morning, scattering train cars down an embankment and on top of one another like pickup sticks.
No one was injured in the accident, but the Montana Rail Link line was expected to be out of commission all day, halting train traffic through Helena.
Linda Frost, a spokesperson for MRL, said they received word of the derailment, 13 miles west of Helena, at about 12:45 a.m. Tuesday. Thirteen empty cars derailed and another 12 cars parked on a siding — including three that contained corrosive material known as Piperidine — were damaged. Frost said the cars carrying the Piperidine were intact and nothing was released from them. The rest of the cars on the siding were carrying a variety of commodities.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation, but Frost said it appears that the 13 empty rail cars were eastbound and hit the parked cars when passing them. The accident occurred on a curve in the rail line.
Tuesday morning, at least two of the empty rail cars lay on their sides down a steep embankment, with the cover torn off of one. Others remained on the tracks, with one double-decker precariously perched at enough of an angle, leaning toward Austin Road. Crews used an excavator’s claw like a large hand to hold it in place.
“It’s a complicated situation,” Frost said. “A heavy equipment company has arrived on the site and will begin moving cars away from the track.”
She noted that they’re holding back rail traffic along the route until the tracks are cleared. Frost anticipated reopening the tracks Tuesday evening.
Gus Melonas, a spokesman for BNSF, said they were only minimally impacted by the derailment.
“At this point, BNSF has been able to weather the storm,” he said. “Fortunately, we have the Hi-Line operation, which is able to accommodate additional traffic. So we’re repositioning and rerouting over the Hi-Line route and will continue to do so until the derailment is cleaned up.”
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