Two BNSF Railway trains collided on the freight railroad's tracks in an isolated area of northwestern Arizona, killing one person and injuring another, officials said Wednesday.
The wreck occurred Tuesday near Truxton, Arizona, a small community 103 miles (166 kilometers) west of Flagstaff, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said.
No identities were released, and BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent declined to say whether the people killed or injured in the wreck were BNSF employees.
The wreck and the closing of BNSF's double-track southern main line in that area forced Amtrak to use charter buses to carry train passengers between Flagstaff and Los Angeles. Amtrak's passenger trains use freight railroad tracks in most parts of the United States.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the busing of passengers on the passenger railroad's Southwest Chief route between Chicago and Los Angeles would continue until BNSF reopened its tracks at the wreck site.
Kent declined to discuss circumstances of the wreck but said one engine derailed but remained upright. She said two cars also were derailed but she declined to describe them.
The sheriff's office said in a statement that deputies "observed one of the trains had been derailed and the other received significant damage."
The sheriff's office said the National Transportation Safety Board was notified of the wreck and was "involved in the investigations." An NTSB spokesman did not respond to several inquiries.
