An Amtrak passenger train derailed in Northfield, Vt., Monday morning. Gov. Peter Shumlin says six people were transported to Central Vermont Medical Center in nearby Berlin, where they’re expected to recover quickly from minor injuries. A seventh person, who officials are not identifying pending notification of family, was airlifted to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where the person is being treated for undisclosed injuries.
Update 4 p.m. Amtrak released some information about the derailment in a release Monday afternoon.
Amtrak management continues to respond to the derailment of Train 55, the Vermonter, near Northfield, Vermont. The train was traveling from St. Albans, Vt., to Washington, D.C. when it partially derailed. The track is owned and maintained by the New England Central Railroad.
Preliminary reports indicate some passengers have sustained injuries and have been transported to local medical facilities. There are no immediate reports of any life-threatening injuries to the 98 passengers and four crew members.
The release said anyone with questions about friends or family on the train can call Amtrak’s emergency hotline at 1-800-523-9101. It did not mention the status of the injured passenger who was airlifted to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.
Update 1:43 p.m. Gov. Peter Shumlin says seven people were injured when an Amtrak passenger train carrying 104 people derailed in Northfield at about 10:30 Monday morning.
Shumlin says six people were transported to Central Vermont Medical Center in nearby Berlin, where they’re expected to recover quickly from minor injuries. A seventh person, who officials are not identifying pending notification of family, was airlifted to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where the person is being treated for undisclosed injuries.
No deaths were reported at the scene.
“I’ve just been meeting with the passengers,” Shumlin said, “and it’s really a remarkable thing to hear. It was a pretty brutal derailment caused by ledge on the track, and as one of the passengers said to me, ‘Someone was looking out for us, because literally we walked out of a very difficult situation.’”
The Amtrak Vermonter was headed south toward Randolph after a stop in Montpelier. Many of the passengers were tourists from out of state visiting the area to see fall foliage.
Shumlin says a piece of a ledge that had fallen onto the tracks Sunday night or early Monday morning was responsible for the derailment. Shumlin said a freight train passed through the same section of track Sunday night without incident.
The train was made up of six passenger cars being pulled by one engine. The engine and five of the passenger cars derailed. The engine and two passenger cars slid down a steep embankment, and the engine came to a rest in a nearby stream.
Shumlin said crews are working to remove diesel that spilled in the wreck. He said both state officials and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the derailment, but added that he doesn’t think that the accident is symptomatic of any underlying safety deficiencies. A ledge falling into tracks, he said, is a “freak” occurrence. Shumlin also said inspectors check for problems on the tracks at least twice per week.
Amtrak is arranging bus transportation for passengers affected by the derailment, Shumlin said.
Update 1:34 p.m. Before a 1:30 news conference, Gov. Peter Shumlin arrived at Norwich University in Northfield to meet with some of the passengers from the derailed train.
Update 12:24 p.m. Gov. Peter Shumlin’s office announced a news conference, planned for 1:30 p.m. at Norwich University, to brief the media on the train derailment.
Original Post 12:04 p.m. Emergency personnel on the scene say there are no life-threatening injuries, but neither emergency officials nor Amtrak officials have confirmed that.
Just before noon, passengers were gathered in a yard at a nearby home awaiting buses. Emergency personnel on site announced on a loudspeaker that the buses will transport passengers to Norwich University, where a meal is being prepared for them.
The derailment took place to the east of Vermont Route 12, near the road’s intersection with Bull Run Road in Northfield, less than a mile from where the tracks pass over Route 12.