Freight traffic resumes after Montana derailment dumped beer
A train sits derailed near Quinn's Hot Springs Resort west of St. Regis, Mont., Sunday, April 2, 2023. Montana Rail Link is investigating the derailment in which there were no injuries reported. (Ben Allan Smith/The Missoulian via AP)
SUPERIOR, Mont. (AP) — Freight traffic has resumed along rail line in western Montana where a 25-car derailment left several cars on the banks of the Clark Fork River, including some that spilled cases of beer, Montana Rail Link officials said Friday.
Rail traffic resumed Thursday evening near the town of Paradise, where the train derailed on Sunday morning, spokesperson Andy Garland said.
Garland said the company had removed many of the damaged cars, cleaned up debris and fixed damage to the rails by Thursday afternoon.
The cause of the derailment is still under investigation. It happened in an scenic area where the railroad tracks run between the base of the mountain and the river. Some of the cars derailed in a century-old tunnel with little clearance, officials said.
Montana Rail Link said nobody was hurt and no hazardous materials spilled. The derailment did spill cases of Coors Light and Blue Moon beer along with powdered clay, officials said.
A tanker car carrying butane tipped over, but did not leak, officials said.