Train derails on border of Glacier National Park, spilling thousands of bushels of grain

Several BNSF Railway train cars carrying what appeared to be corn derailed on the border of Glacier National Park about two miles east of the Goat Lick Saturday.

Crews were working to right the cars, and trucks equipped with huge vacuum pumps were waiting to start cleaning up thousands of bushels of corn that spilled out of the cars and down the embankment. 

Two cars went down the steep bank from the tracks. One rested about 150 feet from U.S. Highway 2. The other about 50 feet or so upslope. All told, 12 cars derailed, the company said. There were no injuries.

The train derailed at 5:42 a.m. and the line was expected to reopen Saturday night.

Corn spills are particularly problematic because if they’re not cleaned up quickly, they start to attract bears and other wildlife. 

Traffic on Highway 2 was reduced to one lane, though delays didn’t last long, about 10 minutes or so. 

The railway had trucks on the scene with new rails and ties on the ready once the debris was cleaned up. Freight trains were backed up for miles behind the wreck. 

This story will be updated as more information becomes available. 

    A spilled car ended up not far from U.S. Highway 2.
  

    A worker looks over the wreckage.