California: Amtrak train cars derail

Several people sustain minor injuries

Emergency crews gather at the scene of a train derailment near San Francisco.

HAYWARD, California (CNN) -- Part of an Amtrak train went off the tracks near San Francisco overnight, causing minor injuries to several passengers, according to an Amtrak spokeswoman.

Five of 13 passenger cars and one of three engine cars derailed around 10:10 p.m. PDT Wednesday (1:10 a.m. EDT Thursday) but did not overturn, spokeswoman Vernae Graham said.

The train left Los Angeles at 10 a.m. Wednesday and was scheduled to arrive in Seattle Thursday at 8:25 p.m. PDT.

Graham said 187 passengers and 23 crew members were on the Coast Starlight Train No. 14.

She said the cause was still under investigation, but a spokesman for Union Pacific Railways -- the company that owns the tracks -- said the locomotive hit an unidentified object.

Graham said authorities were still assessing damage to the train and the tracks several hours after the derailment.

The passengers were bused to Amtrak's nearby Oakland station, where they will board a northbound train for Seattle Thursday morning, Graham said.