BARRIEN COUNTY (WWJ) - Amtrak said it expects to resume full operations on Sunday, Nov. 19 after a passenger train carrying roughly 200 passengers slammed into a vehicle and derailed earlier this week.
Eight routes traveling from Michigan to Chicago were forced to cancel on Thursday, Nov. 16 when the train collided with a truck and a tow truck before 10 p.m. in New Buffalo, a township near Lake Michigan in Barrien County.
The train, which was carrying an estimated 218 passengers and six crew members, was traveling west from Pontiac and was an hour from its Chicago destination when the collision occurred at Lakeside Road near US-12.
About 10 passengers sustained non-life-threatening injuries, the Barrien County Sheriff's Office said.
According to Undersheriff Charles E. Heit, the driver of the truck had made a wrong turn and ended up on the tracks prior to the collision. A tow truck was working to move the unoccupied vehicle from the tracks when the train came through the public crossing and slammed into it.
The force of the crash did derail the train, Amtrak said, but it remained upright.
Crews have been working since Thursday evening to repair any damage. Amtrak said it expected Wolverine trains 354 and 355 to resume service to and from Pontiac and Chicago on Saturday afternoon.
However, the company said repairs would not be completed for trains to run from Port Huron and East Lansing to Chicago.
Other morning and mid-day trains schedules from Pontiac, Detroit and Ann Arbor were also impacted.
Amtrak said it provided chartered buses as an alternative transportation for customers affected by the route disruptions.
Customers are welcome to all 1-800-USA-RAIL for refund information.
The crash does remain under investigation at this time. Customers seeking currently train schedule updates can do so on Amtrak’s social media page.