2 CN freight trains collide near Two Harbors, some workers hurt

2 freight trains collide in northeast Minn.

TWO HARBORS, Minn. — Canadian National Railway Co. says two freight trains have collided on a track in northeast Minnesota, injuring crew members.

CN spokesman Patrick Waldron says the trains collided about 4 p.m. Thursday about 13 miles north of Two Harbors. The Lake County sheriff’s office says the collision was head-on.

Waldron told the Duluth News Tribune all five crew members were hurt and were taken to a hospital, but the extent of their injuries is unknown.

Each train had three locomotives which derailed but are upright. One train had 116 cars loaded with iron ore pellets, and 15 of those cars derailed. The other train had 116 empty cars, and two of those cars derailed.

Waldron says the cause of the collision is under investigation.

CN’s U.S. operations are based in suburban Chicago.