About a dozen hurt in Michigan train derailment
NILES, Mich. — About a dozen passengers and crew on an Amtrak train from Chicago to Pontiac, north of Detroit, were injured Sunday when two of its locomotives and one or more coaches derailed.
None of the injuries from the incident near Niles in southwest Michigan were considered serious or life-threatening, said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari. The injured were taken to area hospitals.
Amtrak train 350, the Wolverine Service, was carrying approximately 174 passengers and four crew members when it lost “contact with the track” about two miles east of Niles, Magliari told The Associated Press.
“The train remained upright and in-line,” he added.
Police in Niles said the scene was being cleared about 12:30 p.m.
The cause of the derailment, just north of the Indiana state line and about 80 miles southwest of Grand Rapids, was under investigation. Amtrak service in west Michigan was disrupted.
Magliari said alternate transportation was being arranged for passengers on the derailed train and on other Amtrak trains until the tracks could be reopened.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday it will send a team to the area to investigate the derailment.