Amtrak passenger train derails in Vermont: state police

(Reuters) - An Amtrak passenger train derailed in central Vermont early on Monday and at least four people were transported to the hospital, officials said on Monday. Police and emergency crews were responding to the scene in the town of Northfield, Vermont, Vermont State Police spokesman Scott Waterman said. Montpelier Fire Department Lieutenant Dana Huoppi told Fox News that an Amtrak train with five cars derailed and two of the cars went down an embankment. Many of the passengers were shaken up but only four to taken to hospital, Huoppi said. The train, en route from St. Albans, Vermont, to Washington D.C., derailed after it hit debris on the track from a rock slide, CNN reported. Northfield, is located in the Green Mountains 10 miles south of the state capital Montpelier. The town is home to Norwich University, the oldest private military college in the United States. Amtrak wrote on Twitter that it was aware of the derailment, which was reported to police at about 10:30 a.m., and was assessing the situation. The National Transportation Safety Board media office said it was gathering information about the derailment. (Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago, Laila Kearney and Barbara Goldberg in New York; Writing by Frank McGurty; Editing by Susan Heavey and Bill Trott)