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Another Amtrak Cascades train derailed almost exactly one year after DuPont wreck; no injuries

No passengers were injured Monday when an Amtrak Cascades train derailed while slowly backing into the station in Vancouver, Canada.
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No passengers were injured Monday when an Amtrak Cascades train derailed while slowly backing into the station in Vancouver, Canada.

An Amtrak Cascades train arriving in Vancouver, B.C., from Seattle derailed at low speed Monday. Nobody was hurt, but the timing was unfortunate: The derailment occurred almost exactly one year after last December's deadly derailment south of Tacoma, which killed three people and injured dozens more. 

"Amtrak Cascades train 516 operating from Seattle to Vancouver derailed three cars at a slow speed while reversing into the Vancouver station," Amtrak public relations manager Olivia Irvin said by email. "There were no injuries to the approximately 102 customers on board or crew members."

The three derailed cars stayed upright, but leaned toward an adjacent freight track, according to a rail enthusiast who posted a description of the midday mishap to TrainOrders.com

Separately, a passenger shared pictures on Twitter showing a broken window and a bent-out-of-shape exit door.

Irvin said the cause of the derailment is currently under investigation. Canadian National owns the tracks leading into Vancouver's Pacific Central Station.

Amtrak is replacingits twice daily train between Seattle and British Columbia with bus service through December 23.

The regional Amtrak Cascades service was already down one train set because of the much more serious derailment near DuPont, Washington on December 18, 2017. Irvin said Monday's damage to another Talgo train set is still being assessed.

"The train has been taken out of service," Irvin said.

No word yet whether this new derailment will cause ongoing service disruptions.

Copyright 2018 Northwest News Network

Correspondent Tom Banse is an Olympia-based reporter with more than three decades of experience covering Washington and Oregon state government, public policy, business and breaking news stories. Most of his career was spent with public radio's Northwest News Network, but now in semi-retirement his work is appearing on other outlets.
Tom Banse
Tom Banse covers national news, business, science, public policy, Olympic sports and human interest stories from across the Northwest. He reports from well known and out–of–the–way places in the region where important, amusing, touching, or outrageous events are unfolding. Tom's stories can be found online and heard on-air during "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" on NPR stations in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.