(DODGE CITY, Kansas) Twenty people were injured early Monday when an Amtrak train en route to Chicago derailed in Kansas.
Amtrak Southwest Chief Train 4, traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago on BNSF tracks, derailed several cars shortly after midnight about 20 miles west of Dodge City, Kansas, according to a statement from Amtrak.
Local emergency crews responded and 20 passengers — one of whom was airlifted from the scene — were taken to hospitals with injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening, Amtrak said. There were about 128 passengers and 14 crew members on board the train at the time.
The remaining passengers were taken to the 4-H Recreation Center in Cimarron, Kansas, and will be provided alternate transportation to their final destination, Amtrak said. The Red Cross and other relief agencies were dispatched to provide assistance to those passengers.
Amtrak said the transit agency is working with BNSF to investigate the cause of the derailment.
Amtrak Southwest Chief Train 3, traveling from Chicago to Los Angeles on March 13 and 14 will detour from Newton, Kansas, to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
