HAVRE, Mont. — No injuries were reported Monday after one car of the eastbound Empire Builder derailed Monday afternoon near Havre, Mont.
Amanda Frickel, Hill County coordinator for disaster and emergency services, told MTN News that the next-to-last car derailed but remained upright, confirming what appeared to be the case, based on an image posted on Twitter (see below).
The derailment occurred about 2 p.m., just west of Havre; the Amtrak Alerts Twitter feed indicates as of 6:48 CDT that the train was back on the move and running about 4 hours late.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said on Twitter that he was in touch with Amtrak about the derailment and said, “with three recent derailments in Montana,” he would be pressing the U.S. Department of Transportation “for answers and accountability.”
The Builder derailment came three days after a BNSF derailment east of Havre [see “11 cars of BNSF train derail …,” Trains News Wire, July 22, 2023] and two days after Montana Rail Link restored service on its main line, closed since June 24 by a bridge collapse and derailment [see “Rebuilt Montana Rail Link bridge … opens to traffic,” News Wire, July 24, 2023].
Share this articlePhoto of the derailment, via Frickel. You can see the wheels of the penultimate passenger car in the dirt #mtnews pic.twitter.com/gd68NA7oye
— Josh Margolis (@JoshMNBCMT) July 24, 2023
