CRAWFORD COUNTY, Ark — Crews are cleaning up after a train derailed in rural Crawford County Tuesday, Jan. 4.
Calls came in early Tuesday morning about the train derailment north of Alma near Frog Bayou.
According to Railroad Police Chief Ron Sparks, the 13 car train was headed northbound and carrying non-hazardous materials. Only sand was lost in the derailment No injuries were reported.
Sparks says these tracks are the mainline connecting Fort Smith to Northwest Arkansas.
Upon hearing the news no one was hurt, John Marston, owner of The Rudy Store was thankful after witnessing some of the aftermath.
“All you could see was the diesel tank from the engine sticking up in the air out of the brush,” Marston said. “My first thought was, ‘how could anybody not get hurt in that?’ but then, later on, I heard that the engineers made it through before the derailment.”
We confirmed with Five Rivers Distribution in Van Buren that the derailment and closed tracks will not impact their operations. We also confirmed that the passenger line is closed for the season.
Sparks says the next step is to get the tracks cleaned up, make necessary repairs, and get the railway operational as soon as possible.
Crews are working to clean everything up as quickly as possible but it could be until Monday when operations resume.
Experts and structural engineers are on-site investigating the cause of the derailment.
Stay with 5NEWS for updates on this developing story.