RIO TINTO says 50 wagons have been derailed from one of its iron ore trains in the Pilbara, and a 40-car freight train was derailed near Kalgoorlie in an unrelated accident.
In Pilbara, a quarter of a fully-laden 230-car train derailed on the Tom Price-Dampier line on 29 January 2009. No one was injured, but the company will need a few days to clean up the accident.
The derailing will not affect short term exports of the ore, because the company keeps a stockpile of the material at Dampier Port.
In Kalgoorlie, a freight train derailed on the morning of the same day, injuring three people. The injured were rescued by railway workers on specially-fitted four-wheel drives.
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