ELKO, Nev. — Sixteen railcars of corn from a Union Pacific train derailed near the Amtrak station in Elko early today (Wednesday, Feb. 28), striking the support of a street overpass and raising question about the bridge’s structural integrity.
No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved.
The Associated Press reports the derailment occurred about 5 a.m., striking supports for the 12th Street Bridge but missing the shelter on the Amtrak platform “by providence,” according to Elko Police Department Lt. Rick Moore. Police initially said on Facebook that the bridge would be closed for at least 24 hours while engineers assessed the bridge’s structural integrity, leading to delays of one hour or more for those coming from the community of Spring Creek, south of Elko, but by this evening, southbound lanes on the bridge had been reopened and the remaining lanes were expected to open soon.
Amtrak’s California Zephyr is being affected. The eastbound train due in Elko at 9:31 p.m. today is being held in Reno, Nev., according to the train status feature on the Amtrak website. The westbound train, scheduled to arrive at 3:01 a.m. on Thursday morning, is still listed for an on time arrival but was 1 hour, 20 minutes late departing its last stop in Grand Junction, Colo. Today’s westbound departure from Chicago is scheduled to terminate tomorrow evening in Salt Lake City because of severe weather conditions, according to the Amtrak Alerts feed on X; tomorrow’s 9:10 a.m. eastbound departure from Emeryville, Calif., has been canceled.
Okay,, what was the cause of the derailment or is it still under investigation? As a secondary note, I would imagine Foster Farms were not happy campers over this delayed shipment….
Has anyone noticed the number of significant derailments as of late? Not just your garden variety yard derailments. I mean cars strewn out along the ROW.