The Canyon Spirit luxury train, formerly known as the Rocky Mountaineer, was involved in a crash Wednesday morning with an oil tanker truck in Rifle, Colorado.
Canyon Spirit spokeswoman Dallas Carlson said no injuries were reported by guests or employees. A group of about 35 travel advisors was onboard the train for a fam trip.
The Colorado Sun reported that 6,000 gallons of oil from the truck spilled onto U.S. Highway 6, and that police closed the road in both directions while emergency vehicles tended to the crash.
The train was traveling from Glenwood Springs in Colorado to Moab, Utah, when the accident occurred. The train partially derailed and was unable to continue its route; it was not immediately clear if upcoming itineraries will be paused.
Nadia Henry, owner of Travel with Sparkle and a Travel Weekly columnist, was part of the fam group on the train. She said a sudden stop was followed by a dragging sensation and a booming noise.
"At first, we weren't sure what had happened," she said.
Passengers saw white smoke on the right side of the train and a wrecked vehicle on the train's left, Henry said. About 15 minutes later, passengers were informed that the train had hit a truck.
Henry said passengers were just finishing breakfast when emergency responders arrived. She said they were told that the truck had stopped on the tracks while attempting to enter a fenced area and was unable to reverse in time.
The train's engineer spotted the truck a quarter-mile away and applied the brakes, slowing the train enough to prevent a full derailment, Henry said. She remarked about "how well Canyon Spirit handled the situation."
Damage and future itineraries
Canyon Spirit passengers and employees continued their trip to Moab by motorcoach, Carlson said.
Itineraries scheduled to depart on May 8, 9 and 12 will be affected.
Passengers slated to be on the May 8 and 9 trips will instead travel by coach. Canyon Spirit did not publicly share its alternate plan for the May 12 departure. It is unclear if additional departure dates will be affected.
The extent of the damage is unclear and the train is currently being examined, according to the company.
This report was updated to include information about future itineraries.