Train derails near Superior

Nick Ianniello

Mineral Independent

Heavy equipment and work crews for Montana Rail Link are working as fast as they can to clear the tracks of a train derailment that took place late Monday evening, Feb. 16 on the tracks east of Superior.

According to Linda Frost, the Public Information Officer for Montana Rail Link, no one was hurt and no debris made it into the Clark Fork River in the accident which involved 23 coal-carrying cars.

Frost said that there were no hazardous materials involved in the accident, although several of the cars involved dumped coal onto the tracks and surrounding area.

Heavy equipment was brought in Tuesday afternoon to put some of the cars back on the tracks and remove others from the scene.

“Needless to say when you re-rail those heavy boxcars it takes some specialized equipment,” said Frost.

Mineral County Road Foreman Jason McClees, a former Montana Rail Link employee, said Tuesday morning that some of the heavy equipment used to clean up the incident may damage the chip seal or other parts of the roads used to access the fairly remote accident site but Montana Rail Link has always been helpful in repairing any damage done to county roads.

“We try to be as helpful to them as we can so they can get things cleared up,” McClees said.

While much of the track is hidden underneath overturned cars and coal, Frost said that workers will likely have to fix the train tracks once the accident has been cleared.

“After the equipment and the coal has been removed we’re then going to have to start repairing the track,” Frost said.

Frost said that as of yet they have no information regarding how the train was derailed and they are still investigating possible causes. She added that they are still not sure how much damage the wreck has done.

“We’ll have a better idea of how much damage has been done as soon as we get everything moved out of the way,” Frost said.