No injuries after nine tanker cars from freight train derail in Harvey Station, N.B.

No one was injured after nine tanker cars from a freight train derailed Thursday morning in Harvey Station, N.B.

Mayor Winston Gamblin says the derailment occurred around 5 a.m. He believes it occurred after a train wheel fell off and tore up the track.

"The train had stopped on the crossing, so I didn't know quite what was wrong till we looked at the tracks and could see a little bit off the track," said Gamblin.

Residents said they are used to the trains, but the incident was loud enough to cause some buzz around the community.

"I was sleeping and trains go here all night, and it was after four. I heard this bang, bang, bang, bang, so I sat right up. It scared me cause it sounded like it was so close," said Harvey resident, Debbie Harris.

"I'd like to have a dollar for everyone that's drove in to take a picture," said Mary Anne Nasan.

Harvey Fire Chief Jerrad Swan says all of the cars were empty, except for one that contained powdered lime. The lime did leak out, but officials say it poses no environmental concern.

"The initial response we came to see what was going on, we found nine cars upset and two on their sides, just partially upset I guess down there. The engineer met us, told us what was wrong, cars were empty, that there was no initial concern, and then we were basically just making sure public safety was notified," said Swan.

First responders brought heavy equipment and a second train engine to clear the scene Thursday.

Highway 2 near Greenfield, N.B., and Route 3 near Cedar Lane were closed to traffic until around 10 a.m., but have since reopened.

Mayor Gamblin says trucks and vehicles are going through the town as per normal.

Transport Canada is leading the investigation and the exact cause of the incident is unknown.

J.D. Irving Ltd., owner of New Brunswick Southern Rail, is also investigating and says they expect operations to be restored by Friday.