LONGVIEW — Both Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks were back in service Monday where two freight trains collided during the weekend.
BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas said the second track reopened shortly before midnight Sunday. The other track opened earlier that day.
All freight and Amtrak trains were back on schedule, he said, although passengers on Monday’s 10 a.m. Amtrak train from Seattle to Portland were being bused to Portland to meet the train there.
About 30 workers remain at the scene of Saturday’s crash, cleaning up debris and making repairs, Melonas said.
More than 20 cars derailed when a northbound Union Pacific train struck the southbound BNSF train as it was switching from one set of tracks to another, said Dave Watson, a senior accident investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.
Two Union Pacific crew members were injured.
Engineer Steven Schaben, 60, of Seattle, was in satisfactory condition Sunday with minor scrapes and bruises at St. John Medical Center in Longview.
Conductor Robert D. Calhoun, 60, of Portland, was taken to Oregon Health &Science University Hospital in serious condition.
No one on the BNSF crew was hurt.
The NTSB was leading the investigation into the accident, which occurred on tracks between the Columbia River and I-5.
Environmental cleanup crews were called to the scene to contain a diesel fuel spill. About 6,000 gallons spilled from three fuel tanks, but none leaked into the river, Melonas said.
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