A faulty switch is the cause of a railroad accident that sent 19 people to the hospital last month, the White Pass and Yukon Route Railway company has revealed.
The switch, the only one of its kind on the track, has since been replaced and repaired.
Tyler Rose, a safety officer for the company, said an “isolated singular component failure” is to blame.
“After the accident there was a more comprehensive inspection performed on all of the switches,” Rose said.
“There was also a comprehensive, full-scale rail inspection prior to the re-opening of the service.”
The company hasn’t been able to pinpoint why the switch failed.
There are 34 switches in total on the track, which is approximately 110 kilometres in length.
On the afternoon of July 23, a tourist train carrying 360 passengers derailed northeast of Skagway.
Nineteen people were treated for minor injuries at the Dahl Memorial Clinic in Skagway.
They were all released within hours.
Full operations resumed two days later, on July 25.
The cost of the accident has yet to be determined.