Amtrak, BNSF seek change of venue for some Southwest Chief suits

By Trains Staff | October 18, 2022

| Last updated on February 13, 2024

Companies cite rule regarding small populations in making request

Aerial view of locomotives damaged in derailment — The lead locomotive on the Southwest Chief shows the damage from the grade-crossing accident that led to a fatal derailment in June. Sol Tucker.

KEYTESVILLE, Mo. — Amtrak and BNSF have requested a change of venue for state lawsuits resulting from June’s fatal derailment of the Southwest Chief.

KMIZ-TV reports the companies are asking that at least three suits be moved from Chariton County — site of the accident near Mendon, Mo., that killed four people — under a Missouri Supreme Court rule that allows moves for such cases in counties with fewer than 75,000 residents. Chariton County’s population was about 7,400 as of the 2020 census.

Amtrak and BNSF are asking the case be moved to Sullivan County, a similarly small county (population 5,999) in the north-central portion of the state. The courthouse in its county seat, Milan, is about 50 miles north of the accident site.

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