Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis spoke on local radio about the incident, saying no one was injured when the cars were toppled at about 12.05am on Wednesday (local time) in the Brown County community of Willis.
Davis said a tornado warning had been issued and the train’s emergency technology alerted the crew that wind gusts were high enough to put the cars at risk of derailing.
The 134-car coal train was travelling from Wyoming to Arkansas but was forced to stop due to the extreme weather.
The wind pushed the 52 cars onto their sides, narrowly avoiding causing damage to the track.
