A train derailment closed roads and canceled classes at the nearby public school in Shelby Monday morning.
BNSF, the railroad company, said in a statement that six cars derailed at 6:39 a.m. inside a Shelby rail yard. The company said there were no injuries and no hazardous materials were released. By midday, the company said the site and the main rail line had been secured, but an inquiry into the cause of the derailment continues.
The Toole County Sheriff’s Office said on social media that the office received reports of a multi-car derailment on tracks close to town at 7:20 a.m. The office asked the public to avoid the area due to “the potential presence of hazardous materials.”
Shortly before 11:30 a.m., the sheriff’s office lifted the road closures and said there were no active leaks of hazardous materials.
Kelsey Buckley, the Toole County disaster and emergency services coordinator, diverted all media inquiries to BNSF but gave a brief statement.
“No immediate danger,” Buckley told Montana Free Press. “It’s being handled, and the public will be notified.”
The derailment closed Shelby Public Schools, which has a campus near the site. Superintendent Elliott Crump told MTFP that the district received notification at 7:47 that the school needed to move students as a precautionary measure. By 8 a.m., all the students were out of the buildings.
“We moved the students up to the airport and had parents come and check them out,” Crump said. “And school is canceled for the day.”
Crump said he saw tipped-over train cars and many emergency vehicles, but no visible signs of disaster. He said that he understood the train cars to be carrying propane.
“The cars fell over, and so they’re on their side,” said Crump.
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