Derailment sends 45 empty coal cars off tracks

OLNEY, Mont. — A BNSF Railway train derailment in western Montana sent 45 empty coal cars off the tracks and closed a portion of U.S. Highway 93 near the town of Olney, northwest of Whitefish. BNSF spokesman Matthew Jones says no one was injured when the eastbound train went off the tracks at about 3 p.m. Saturday. Some of the derailed cars are on a bridge over the highway. Jones says crews are working to clear the tracks and expect the road and tracks to be open by this evening. Amtrak’s Empire Builder travels on those tracks. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari says trains will be held in Spokane and Whitefish until the tracks are cleared.