HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. — A CSX freight train derailed on a bridge over the Potomac River derailed early Saturday morning, sending two cars into the river and damaging part of the bridge. An attached footbridge, part of the Appalachian Trail through the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, was knocked down.
Seven cars derailed, the Washington Post reports, in the accident about 2:30 a.m. The railroad says no one was injured. The cars involved were empty grain hoppers.
The National Park Service reports the footbridge is closed indefinitely, meaning park visitors will be unable to cross between Harpers Ferry and the C&O Canal towpath, and from Harpers Ferry to the Maryland Heights trail.
Other portions of the park are also closed because of the proximity to the accident.
