13 Slightly Injured in 2nd Accident for Amtrak in Less Than a Week

An Amtrak passenger train that apparently ran a red signal collided with a Burlington Northern freight train Thursday, slightly injuring 13 people, authorities said.

Angela Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the Federal Railroad Administration in Washington, said an Amtrak crew member told investigators that the passenger train ran the signal.

It was the second Amtrak accident in less than a week. An Amtrak train carrying 160 people slammed into a work vehicle on tracks outside Philadelphia last Friday, injuring 25 people.

The train that derailed Thursday had about 190 passengers and originated in Oakland. It had just left Omaha for Chicago when the accident occurred, a ticket agent said.

Assistant Fire Chief Bob Warsocki said about 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled from the Amtrak train, but that the spill was contained and there was no danger of fire.

Five empty cars of the 123-car freight train derailed, including the boxcar that was struck by the Amtrak train, officials said.

Both of the Amtrak engines derailed but remained upright, a spokesman said. Four other cars--a mail car and three baggage cars--also derailed. There were 10 other cars on the train.

Thirteen people, including seven Amtrak employees, were treated at two hospitals and released. Amtrak leased several buses to take passengers to Chicago, Kansas City, Mo., and St. Louis.