By Associated Press
Carlinville, IL – A stretch of railroad in southwestern Illinois is out of service because an Amtrak train headed from St. Louis to Chicago has hit a garbage truck blocking the tracks.
Amtrak says none of the train's 38 passengers were seriously injured in the accident shortly after 9 a.m. today just north of Carlinville. Amtrak says the wheels of the locomotive derailed from the Union Pacific tracks after the impact, but the four-car train remained upright and coupled.
The train's passengers were taken to Carlinville's high school, then sent to their destination by chartered buses. Those buses will represent the train and pick up passengers at all stops on the route.
The rail crossing is marked and equipped with warning lights and bells.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari says the accident will disrupt travel on the St. Louis Chicago route through the rest of the afternoon.