Questions remain on the circumstances of a train derailment that caused seven train cars carrying hazardous materials to fall into the Yellowstone River after a bridge collapsed Saturday about 40 miles west of Billings, Montana, Rep. Matt Rosendale told Newsmax on Monday.
"We're very blessed and fortunate that there were no lives lost [and] there were no injuries," the Montana Republican said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "There are still so many questions surrounding the event itself. The derailment, was that caused by the collapse of the bridge, or did the bridge collapse when there was a derailment? We're still trying to understand all of that."
The crash happened Saturday morning in a sparsely populated section of the Yellowstone River Valley near the town of Columbus, Montana, an area surrounded by ranches and farmland. Water testing began and is continuing as the crews work to remove the train cars, according to Andy Garland, a spokesperson for train operator Montana Rail Link.
Garland said the company is working with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the federal Environmental Protection Agency on the cleanup, removal, and restoration.
The cars were carrying hot asphalt and molten sulfur, and Rosendale said Monday the chemicals solidified after hitting the river's cold water.
"Any of the contaminants that could have gone into the river solidified and by 8 p.m. Saturday evening, my understanding is they had been diluted by the river and passed through any of the downstream intakes of some of the larger communities so they wouldn't have to be concerned about that," said Rosendale.
Rosendale said he's been in touch with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and with Montana Rail representatives, and is trying to find out more about when the cars that went into the river will be removed and the bridge can be replaced.
"As you can imagine, for a trestle bridge going across the Yellowstone River, that repair is going to take some time to accomplish," said Rosendale. "That is not something that's going to be done in a week's time."
The derailment also severed a fiber optic cable on the bridge, cutting out 911 service to three local counties, "so we have to figure out a way to get that put back together as well," Rosendale said.
He noted that the Yellowstone River runs high and is "very aggressive," and can "scour out different places on the river bottom and relocate incredible amounts of river rock to different places."
Rosendale said that in some spots, the river is about 5 feet deep, where in others, after the spring runoff, it can be 25 to 30 feet. He said there have been pipelines that have broken in similar spots where there are railroad crossings.
"We have to monitor that," Rosendale said. "Any crossings above or below the Yellowstone River must be monitored on an annual basis."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.