UPDATED 1:05 p.m.: A hospital executive says six people are in the emergency room after an Amtrak train derailed in Vermont when it apparently hit rocks on the track.
Central Vermont Medical Center CEO Judy Tartaglia says the patients have injuries that are not life-threatening. They include neck, back and shoulder pain, lightheadedness and a wrist injury. She says she doesn’t expect more patients.
Amtrak says the Vermonter train from St. Albans, Vermont, to Washington, D.C., derailed Monday morning near Roxbury, about 20 miles southwest of Montpelier. The railroad says the train “reportedly” struck a rock slide on the tracks.
Federal investigators are en route to the site.
ROXBURY, Vt. — An Amtrak train headed from Vermont to Washington, D.C., derailed in central Vermont on Monday after apparently striking rocks that were on the tracks. No life-threatening injuries were reported.
The Vermonter train derailed near Roxbury, about 20 miles southwest of the capital, Montpelier.
Montpelier Fire Department spokeswoman Dana Huoppi told WPTZ-TV: “There are some people that are shaken up, but it sounds like they are only going to transport four by ambulance at this time.”
The 13-hour, 45-minute daily trip begins in St. Albans in northern Vermont. The route passes through cities including Burlington, Vermont, Springfield, Massachusetts, and New York, with D.C. as the final destination.
Amtrak said in a statement that the train “reportedly” struck a rock slide on the tracks and that no critical injuries had been reported.
At least several dozen passengers were loaded onto school buses to be taken to an armory at nearby Norwich University.
Matthew Lehner, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration, said it was aware of the derailment and had sent investigators to the scene.
Vermont State Police and local fire and rescue agencies responded to the derailment, and numerous emergency vehicles were at the site.
The governor’s office said officials would hold a news conference Monday afternoon to update on the derailment.
Associated Press writer Joan Lowy contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.
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