Six years this month, Montana Rail Link experienced a derailment which received national attention.

There were no injuries and no chemicals spilled into the Clark Fork River, but the cargo was intriguing.

The train was hauling Boeing 737 fuselages that were manufactured in the Midwest to the plant in Seattle for assembly. Several green, large wingless ‘tubes’ landed in the Clark Fork River near Westfall and for the next two weeks, cranes, wreckers and crew engineered creative ways to hoist them back up the riverbank. They sat near the railroad tracks for a period of time and then one day, all were gone.

Some said they had to be destroyed while others said they were refurbished in Washington state.

But did anyone hear what actually caused the derailment besides the slurry of rumors?

“The investigation into the incident suggests that a track geometry issue was the cause of the derailment, and not the result of train handling by the crew,” said Ross Lane, the vice president for Corporate Relations of Montana Rail Link.

“Track geometry is made up of a group of parameters that includes gauge, cross level, alignment and curvature of the track. Additionally, specialized rail equipment can detect any defects within the rail itself.”

Moving freight by rail is the most environmentally sustainable and safest way to transport goods large and small across the country. I-90 stretches for 77 miles in Mineral County with accidents involving tractor trailers on a regular occurrence, especially in the west end due to extra curvy roads and icy conditions in the winter.

But goods need to be moved and we have a front row seat of the transportation industry every day giving us a better understanding of the value of safe reliable transportation via rail or asphalt.

While driving I-90, one can see an awful lot of heavy-duty equipment that belongs to MRL that has activity around it all year long between Alberton and 9-Mile. Lane reports “in just the last five years, we have invested well over $250 million in our railroad which includes new technology, maintenance and expansion. “We employ a robust track inspection and a maintenance program that includes specialized rail equipment that can detect anomalies in the track not visible to the human eye. MRL operates an ultrasonic rail detector vehicle five times per year and a geometry car three or more times per year. We operate both at frequencies above and beyond what the Federal Railroad Administration requires.”

So, how to retain a customer (Boeing) when your company was responsible for an extremely expensive mistake?

“We have a strong and productive relationship with Boeing and we’re proud of our partnership,” said Lane. “In the unlikely event of a derailment, MRL works to restore the sight of the derailment to the same or better condition and we are proud to safely deliver the goods Americans count on every day,” Lane said.