National Railroad Passenger Corporation
Amtrak Intercity
210 South Canal Street, Suite 540
Chicago, Illinois 60606-5784
www.amtrak.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 21, 1998
Contact: Debbie Hare
312-655-2390

Amtrak's Texas Eagle Derails Near Dallas;
No Life-Threatening Injuries To Passengers And Crew

CHICAGO -- At approximately 7:05 p.m. (Central Standard Time) yesterday, the southbound Texas Eagle, Train #21, derailed in the City of Arlington, Texas, 16 miles west of Dallas. The train was en route from Chicago to San Antonio when it derailed three locomotives and six cars. There were no life threatening injuries to the approximately 199 passengers and 18 crew members on board the train at the time of the incident.

The train consisted of three locomotives and 10 cars. All three locomotives and six cars derailed including a baggage car, a crew dormitory car, a passenger sleeping car, a dining car, a lounge car and a coach. The four rearmost passenger cars remained on the tracks.

Amtrak is aware of five employee and 14 passenger injuries at this time. None of these injuries is believed to be serious and all 19 people have been treated and released from three area hospitals. Amtrak has dispatched a full support team to assist passengers and crew members involved in the incident. Amtrak has set up a special toll-free hotline for friends and family of passengers to call for information. That number is 1-800-523-9101.

The cause of the accident is under investigation. Amtrak is working with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Union Pacific Railroad, which owns, maintains and dispatches the tracks over which the train was operating at the time of the incident, to determine the cause of the incident.