Alaska Railroad work train derails north of Talkeetna with no injuries

An Alaska Railroad train derailed north of Talkeetna early Friday morning with no injuries reported.

Three crew members were aboard the work train at the time of the incident, according to a spokesperson for the railroad. The cause of the derailment was not immediately clear, they said.

Catherine Clarke, an Alaska Railroad spokesperson, said the derailment led to a puncture on the derailed locomotive’s 2600-gallon diesel fuel tank. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is responding to the incident.

“The damaged fuel tank has been secured and initial containment strategies put in place, as efforts continue to remediate the impacted site,” Clarke said by email on Friday afternoon.

Department of Environmental Conservation staff are coordinating with the railroad and other agencies on cleanup, officials said. In a situation report, DEC said Friday afternoon that the amount of fuel spilled “is unknown at this time.”

The derailment took place just after 3 a.m., approximately 22 miles north of Talkeetna on the Curry loop track — a section of the railroad that provides access to a quarry and is not accessible by road, Clarke said.

The derailment occurred around 400 feet from the Susitna River. There are barriers between the fuel spill and river, DEC said.

“The nearest culvert leading toward the river has been secured and blocked as a precautionary measure. No reports of impacts to surface water have been reported. No wildlife impacts have been observed,” the agency said in its situation report.

The Alaska Railroad typically transports around half a million passengers per year. The derailment was not expected to impact the railroad’s main line, which operates trains between Fairbanks and Seward, Clarke said.