Empire Builder Derails in Columbia Gorge

The Portland section of Amtrak's Empire Builder derailed near Home Valley, Washington in the Columbia River Gorge, at 9:30 AM PDT yesterday morning. Home Valley is about forty miles east of Vancouver, WA.


Photo from Excite News/Associated Press.

115 passengers were aboard. One was airlifted to a Portland hospital, one was admitted to the hospital in nearby Hood River, Oregon, and 24 more were treated and released.

There was heavy damage to the track, but Amtrak expects to have passenger operations back to normal by tomorrow.