Federal investigators arrive in Montana after Empire Builder train derailment

(FOX 9) - Federal investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are now on the scene in Montana after an Amtrak train derailed over the weekend, killing three people and sending seven others to the hospital.

Federal officials are expected to hold a news conference on Monday, where we could learn more about what caused the derailment.

The train line runs from Chicago through the Twin Cities and the northern Great Plains before its final stops in the Pacific Northwest. The crash Saturday afternoon occurred between stops in Selby and Havre in Montana as the train was headed west.

There were 141 passengers aboard the train and 16 crew members, including some people from the Twin Cities, aboard two locomotives and 10 cars. Eight of those cars derailed, with several toppling over, during Saturday night's wreck.

As a result of the crash, trains headed west from Chicago will stop in the Twin Cities until at least Tuesday, leaving some expecting to travel this weekend without a ride.

In a message on Saturday, Amtrak's CEO Bill Flynn said the company will work with NTSB and Federal Railroad Administration to determine what went wrong: "Amtrak’s immediate and sustained focus is on doing everything we can to help our passengers and crew, especially the families of those who were injured or died, at this painful and difficult time. Our Incident Response Team has been initiated. We have sent emergency personnel and Amtrak leadership to the scene to help support our passengers, our employees and their families with their needs."