Amtrak cars carrying cars go off the rails in northern NC, carrier says

An Amtrak Car Train hauling automobiles and 394 passengers to Florida had four of its car-carrying cars derail north of Rocky Mount late Wednesday, but there were no injuries and none of the automobiles was damaged, the rail carrier said.

The four rail cars remained upright after they went off the tracks, Amtrak spokeswoman Beth Toll said Thursday.

The rest of the train was able to start up again after the accident and head south to its destination in Sanford, Fla., Toll said.

The derailment happened about 11:30 p.m.

Crews were working to get the four cars back onto the tracks so they could be hauled away, Toll said.

The tracks, which belong to freight railroad CSX, were blocked by the derailment.

Toll said investigators were trying to determine why the rail cars went off the track.

The train that derailed was Amtrak's Auto Train 53, the railroad said.

Auto trains operate daily between Lorton, Va., and Sanford.

This story was originally published March 29, 2018 at 10:15 AM with the headline "Amtrak cars carrying cars go off the rails in northern NC, carrier says."