BNSF Railway's mainlines in Washington State, subjected to extreme weather conditions this year including at least ten blockages by rock or mudslides, now have seen at least two derailments in the past two weeks.

Crews worked through Saturday night to restore BNSF's trackage in the eastern part of Washington, near Sprague, where three intermodal container cars derailed Saturday morning at approximately 10:40 PST. BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas reported that three containers loaded with furniture on train S-TACSTP1-21 (Tacoma, WA to St. Paul, Minnesota) left the rails. There were no hazardous materials involved and no injuries reported.

Melonas said the route was restored by early Sunday morning, when freight traffic resumed. Amtrak's Empire Builder trains also use the route and were halted on either side of the derailment.

This marked the second derailment in the same area in less than two weeks. The route hosts some forty-five daily trains and has seen delays from a derailment for two straight weekends. Amtrak's eastbound Empire Builder derailed a locomotive and several passenger cars left the rails last Saturday in what investigators believe was an unrelated incident.