TRAIN DERAILED: 21 Cars Off Tracks

A train derailment shut down Highway 175 in Webster County for a while Tuesday morning.

A Union Pacific train carrying grain from Emmetsburg to Eagle Pass, Texas derailed at 3:15 a.m. Twenty-one cars came off the tracks, blocking traffic between County Road P-33 and IA 144, which is southwest of Gowrie. The road was reopened at 9:45 a.m.

A Union Pacific spokesman says heavy equipment arrived on the scene around 7:00 a.m. to clean up and make repairs to 650 feet of track that was damaged in the derailment. Train traffic is being re-routed around the damaged stretch of track. Repairs are expected to be completed by midnight.

No injuries were reported in the derailment and its cause is still under investigation.