WHEATON, Md. --
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are looking for the cause of train derailment that injured several dozen people.
The Amtrak passenger train left the tracks in Kensington, Md., near Summit Avenue and Plyers Mill Road.
The eastbound Capitol Limited, Train No. 30 derailed at approximately 1:55 p.m. Montgomery County fire and rescue official Robert Allwang said the train carried 161 passengers and a crew of 12 who were traveling from Chicago to Washington.
NTSB Spokeswoman Carol Carmody said 97 people are hurt. Carmody said six of the injuries are considered serious. No passenger suffered life-threatening injuries.
Within an hour and six minutes of the derailment, rescue crews had all of the people off the train.
The train consisted of two engines and 13 cars.
An emergency number has been set up for family members of passengers who were on the derailed train. The number for family members to check on a passenger's welfare, is (800) 523-9101.
Passengers who were not hurt were put on buses and taken to the Kensington Armory.
From there, officials plan to take those not injured to Union Station.
A witness said a freight train came down the tracks just minutes before the passenger train. "I heard a big kaboom. Before that happened, a train came through with coal on it, it was flying -- a lot of coal was flying everywhere. A couple minutes later the Amtrak train came through, and then all of a sudden, I saw the track collapse, the inside rail of the train collapsed. The train started rolling, and the cars started flipping over," said Kermitt Tyler, a witness.
"Then I heard a little girl scream. She had one foot hanging in the window and the rest of her body hanging beneath the train. I ran down and tried to help her and got her out. More people were yelling. I brought her up to the top of the hill where a police officer was and then went down and tried to grab some more people. By the time I did that, there were a lot of other people here. I tried to help them out and then got out of the way when the rest of the rescue squad came here."
The train derailed on tracks owned, operated and maintained by CSX Corporation.
MARC Rail uses the same track, and officials said they are making contingency plans for this evening's commute. MARC passengers who usually use the Brunswick line are being told to use their MARC passes to take MetroRail to Shady Grove. From the Shady Grove station, MARC is providing bus service to passenger's final destinations.
The derailment may affect MARC's service tomorrow morning. Passengers can get instructions from
MARC's web site or by calling (410) 539-5000.
Commuters who drive in the area, especially those who use Connecticut Avenue, can expect delays this evening.
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