STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

A COMMUTER RAIL TRAIN without any passengers derailed north of the Andover station Tuesday morning, a day after MBTA overseers advanced two options for hiking fares this year by roughly 6.7 percent or 9.7 percent.

Mac Daniel, a spokesman for Keolis Commuter Services, the commuter rail operator, said the train was traveling northbound to set up for morning service. The derailment occurred about 4 a.m., according to Daniel, who said a conductor and an engineer were on board and no one was injured.

The two derailed coaches – which did not tip over – clogged railroad commutes north of Boston as it tied up trains farther up the line. Keolis canceled some runs and used buses to transport riders between Haverhill and Andover.

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said the incident is under investigation.

“The Federal Railroad Administration has three inspectors on site where the MBTA derailment occurred near Andover earlier today and is investigating the cause. Prior to the line returning to active service, MBTA must inspect the repaired section of track, along with signals and any switches within the derailment area, as required by federal regulations,” a Federal Railroad spokesperson said in a statement.

Daniel said officials are looking at track infrastructure as the possible cause of the derailment and expects commuter rail service to be “full steam” for the afternoon commute. On Tuesday afternoon, Daniel said the first train had just recently traversed the section of repaired track.

“The track structure failed. We don’t really know why at this point,” Rich Murphy, director of train operations for Keolis, said in a video posted online Tuesday morning explaining the delays.

Including the derailed train, five trains were trapped north of Andover as a result of the accident, according to Keolis.

Daniel said officials are looking at track infrastructure as the possible cause of the derailment and expects commuter rail service to be “full steam” for the afternoon commute. On Tuesday afternoon, Daniel said the first train had just recently traversed the section of repaired track.

“The track structure failed. We don’t really know why at this point,” Rich Murphy, director of train operations for Keolis, said in a video posted online Tuesday morning explaining the delays.

Including the derailed train, five trains were trapped north of Andover as a result of the accident, according to Keolis.