Weather

Vermont flooding leaves section of train tracks suspended in mid-air

Photos and video from Ludlow, Vermont, show a portion of railroad suspended in the air after several days of flooding.

By Abby Patkin

Powerful flooding in Ludlow, Vermont, has apparently washed away the land underneath a portion of railroad and left the train tracks suspended in mid-air, photos and video from the scene show. 

“We cover a lot of disaster on @weatherchannel, but we’ve never seen this — railroad tracks suspended 100+ feet in the air after the earth beneath them washed away in Ludlow, VT,” tweeted Justin Michaels, a national correspondent with The Weather Channel. 

Vermont has been wracked by heavy rain and catastrophic flooding over the past several days, rendering some roads unusable, pushing a Montpelier dam to the brink of overflow, and leaving some parts of the state underwater.

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Ludlow is home to Okemo Mountain, a popular ski resort. WCVB reported that a large gorge formed underneath the train tracks that pass through Okemo.

The news outlet noted that the rail line is active and hosts a fall foliage train each year. Boston.com has reached out to Vermont Rail System for more information.

Aerial footage captured by meteorologist and former weatherman Pat Moore shows the extent of the damage to the tracks and surrounding area.

Kelly O’Brien, a reporter with New Hampshire-based local news station WMUR, shared a video from the scene on Twitter and reported that work crews said they hope to have the tracks back up and running in several weeks.