[2] The Empire Builder is a long-distance passenger rail service operated by Amtrak traveling on tracks of the BNSF Railway between the cities of Chicago and Seattle or Portland.

The last major Amtrak accident in Montana occurred in 1988, when an Empire Builder train hit a track buckle and derailed in Saco.

[6] The westbound Empire Builder train 7/27, operating with two P42DC locomotives (units #74 and #38) and 10 railcars (one baggage car followed by nine Superliners),[7] was carrying 149 passengers and 19 crew members at the time of the derailment.

At 3:56 p.m.,[2] while traveling just under the speed limit of 79 mph, the eight rear cars derailed near the town of Joplin, Montana, located 150 miles (240 km) northeast of Helena.

Service was immediately suspended between Minot, North Dakota, and Shelby, Montana, and later Empire Builder trips were truncated to Minneapolis.

[17] The NTSB team held their first press conference the following afternoon, after formally taking over the investigation from Liberty County Disaster and Emergency Services.

[23] Additionally, the NTSB stated the failure of some windows to stay in place caused passenger ejections, contributing to the severity of injuries.