Hundreds of passengers’ plans were derailed on Wednesday when a train crashed into a tanker truck on Colorado’s Western Slope, damaging the tracks — but not just those on board were affected.
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The train involved in the crash was the Canyon Spirit, a luxury passenger train operated by Canada-based Armstrong Collective. But Amtrak and various freight companies also use the rails and, with the route closed to repair damage from the crash, those trains are unable to pass through.
“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience,” a service alert for the California Zephyr route on Amtrak’s train status page stated. The route spans dozens of stations between Chicago and Emeryville, California.
As of Thursday, Amtrak had suspended service between Denver and Grand Junction because of the derailment, according to the alert. The disruption affects trips from those two stations and from the Fraser-Winter Park, Grandy and Glenwood Springs stations, according to the posted route.
“Bus transportation will be provided,” the alert stated. “Crews will be coordinating a bus-to-train transfer to get all passengers off and onto another train in a safe and organized manner to continue travel.”
It’s unclear how long Amtrak service will be suspended between the two stations, but, as of Thursday morning, the service alert did not appear on Friday’s trip west out of Denver. The California Zephyr is scheduled to leave Union Station at 8:46 a.m. Friday, according to Amtrak.
The Amtrak passenger train was not involved in Wednesday’s derailment, but it uses the same tracks that law enforcement said are indefinitely closed for repairs.
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Amtrak officials did not respond to a request for comment Thursday morning.
Union Pacific, which owns the tracks in that area, did not respond to inquiries about the extent of damage.
The Utah-bound Canyon Spirit hit a tanker truck at about 9:40 a.m. Wednesday, just outside the town of Rifle in Garfield County, according to the Colorado State Patrol. The truck was on the train tracks along U.S. 6 when it was hit.
State patrol officials said the crash derailed six passenger cars and two locomotives, ripped open the truck’s tank of fuel and damaged the train tracks.
No train passengers reported any injuries, and the truck driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, according to the state patrol. Passengers were loaded onto buses to complete their trip to Moab, Utah.
The crash and derailment remain under investigation.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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