WASHINGTON — Amtrak service south of Washington, D.C. is expected to be restored Wednesday morning.
This comes after a pair of Amtrak trains derailed at the entrance of Union Station Tuesday morning.
Around 9:30 a.m., DC Fire and EMS tweeted about the derailment. During the initial report, they said that it was minor in nature and said there were no reported injuries. Fire crews then began to work to reach the train, which had passengers onboard.
Just before 10:15 a.m., crews at the scene determined that it was two train cars that were derailed, but they were upright inside the tunnel just before Union Station. Firefighters were able to get aboard the train to communicate with passengers and get them removed. At the same time, EMS began evaluating one person, who was later identified as an Amtrak employee, who was ultimately transported to a hospital to be treated for a minor medical condition.
"At this time, Amtrak service is temporarily suspended between Washington and Richmond while crews inspect the area and work to re-rail the lead locomotive and coach car," Amtrak spokesperson Kyle Anderson said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
Following the derailment, DC Fire spokesperson Vito Maggiolo said crews coordinated with Amtrak to make sure passengers were safe. Passengers were moved to unaffected cars, and taken to the L'Enfant Plaza station, then escorted to a nearby holiday in hotel to rest and hydrate.
Maggiolo said working with partners is always critical, and described working with Amtrak as a "multi-pronged" operation.
Vito said firefighters were prepared for what happened because they have previously held drills in the area.
"In past years, we have had drills in that specific tunnel...," he said. "Training always helps."
Several train routes were canceled altogether for the day, including:
- Fredericksburg trains 301, 303, 305 and 315
- Manassas trains 325, 327, 329, 333 and 337
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) said, that at this time, this has not impacted Metrorail service.
OmniRide is accepting VRE-ticketed passengers Tuesday afternoon.
Their schedule can be found online.
The only trains that will operate from L’Enfant on Tuesday are as follows:
To Fredericksburg departing L’Enfant:
307 at 4:08 p.m.
311 at 5:28 p.m.
313 at 6:18 p.m.
To Manassas departing L’Enfant:
331 at 5:18 p.m.
335 at 6:08 p.m
The cause of the derailment is still under investigation by Amtrak.