MAX, Neb. (AP) — Amtrak says a small number of passengers have been taken to hospitals after a train carrying about 175 people between San Francisco and Chicago derailed in Nebraska shortly after leaving Denver.
Amtrak says the California Zephyr train ran into some equipment on the tracks and derailed around 8 a.m. near Benkelman, not far from the state’s borders with Kansas and Colorado.
Two locomotives and the first three of 10 passenger cars left the tracks. Some of the cars tipped onto their sides but there was no fire.
Amtrak spokesman Mark Magliari says he can’t confirm the exact number of injuries but says none are believed to be life-threatening.
Dundy County Hospital spokeswoman Sandy Noffsinger says seven patients are being treated there. She confirms none of those injuries are considered to be life-threatening.
The derailment of the eastbound train has also delayed the arrival of the westbound Zephyr into Denver.
Passengers at the Amtrak station in downtown Denver were initially told their train would arrive at 1:30 p.m., but have now been told there is no estimate for their departure west.
Passenger Jo-Ann Allison said she isn’t worried about the delay.
“It’s 26 hours with nothing to do. I have plenty of books to read and I have my DVD player,” she said.
Allison said she doesn’t like to fly and prefers to travel by train.
She has made the trek from California to Colorado about six times. She spent the last week in Boulder visiting her son and daughter in-law. They are expecting their second child and, “I got to hear the heartbeat of my grandson,’ she said.
She said in her previous trips from Sacramento to Washington D.C. or Colorado have always been on time.
“There’s nothing I can do,” she said.
Paolo Lamperti, 26, who is waiting for the train to take him to San Francisco, said his work as a flight attendant has taught him to expect delays and changes of plan while traveling. Traveling by bus and train for the last 2 months has also acclimated him to waiting.
“It’s all part of the journey,” he said. “But, thank God for a wireless connection.”
