SUMMIT, Montana — A BNSF derailment Saturday evening (Sept. 6, 2025) blocked the railroad’s main line on its Hi Line Subdivision, leading to the cancellation of Amtrak’s Empire Builder scheduled to depart today from Portland, Ore., and Seattle.
An updated BNSF customer advisory says the derailment near Summit was reported about 6 p.m. local time. One track was reopened at 6:29 a.m. local time today; the second was projected to be reopened about 9 a.m. MT and the second about 1 p.m. CT. BNSF said in a statement that the derailment involved seven empty railcars; no hazardous materials were involved and there were no injuries.
An Amtrak social media post says today’s trains were cancelled “due to equipment unavailability resulting from a freight train blocking the tracks.” The Transitdocs intercity rail map indicates that the westbound Builder due to arrive on the West Coast today was held up more than 10 hours between Havre and Shelby, Mont., following the derailment. It is currently projected to arrive in Seattle at 8:25 p.m., almost 9 hours late and more than three hours after that equipment is scheduled to depart on its return trip east. The eastbound Builder that departed Seattle and Portland has made it past the site of the derailment and is operating 1 hour, 42 minutes late as of noon CT.
Summit is approximately 68 miles east of Whitefish, Mont., and 11 miles west of the Amtrak stop at East Glacier Park.
— Updated at 3:55 p.m. CT with information on reopening of main line; updated at 4:42 p.m. CT with additional details from BNSF>
