Train carrying corn derails in Prairie du Chien, raises concerns.
City administrator is relieved that the railcars were not holding hazardous materials.
Posted: Tuesday, September 1, 2015
BY JEFF MONTGOMERY JEFF.MONTGOMERY@THMEDIA.COM
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. --
A BNSF train carrying corn derailed in southwest Prairie du Chien at about 6 p.m. Sunday, causing no injuries but raising fresh concerns about the community's preparedness for a more serious derailment.
Amy McBeth, a public relations director for BNSF, confirmed Monday that four railcars left the tracks, with two falling on their side and the two others remaining upright. McBeth said the train had 113 cars and four locomotives.
City Administrator Aaron Kramer on Monday expressed relief that the train was not carrying hazardous materials. However, he said the event served as a "wake-up call" for the city, noting that he was alarmed by the lack of communication about the incident.
Kramer first learned of the derailment through media reports Monday morning.
"I was not personally notified of the incident. The wastewater treatment plant was notified via the Crawford County dispatch center, and I am not aware of any other city officials being notified," Kramer said. "Obviously, that is something we would like to see addressed here in the future."
Asked to address Kramer's concerns, McBeth noted that BNSF contacted Crawford County because the company believed the accident had occurred outside Prairie du Chien's city limits.
McBeth said she received an email from Kramer on Monday. "We will be in touch with the city of Prairie du Chien to discuss the situation and how to improve communication in the future," she said.
After Sunday's derailment, Kramer said the city would take a closer look into what kind of materials are transported through the area.
McBeth said a wide variety of materials are transported through the area, ranging from farm products and automobiles to ethanol and crude oil.
"We work to prevent all incidents from occurring," McBeth said. "When something like this does happen, we will have a thorough investigation into what happened and why and how we prevent it from happening again."
McBeth said the derailment occurred on an "interchange," a portion of track that connects two different rail lines. The derailment did not have any significant impact on other rail traffic moving through the area, she said.
She added that all of the railcars had been removed from the track as of late Monday afternoon, allowing BNSF crews to begin initial repairs. Of the four cars that left the tracks, one was successfully re-railed and the other three will be used for scrap.
McBeth said the derailment remains under investigation and a cause had yet to be determined.
Kramer added that this was the first derailment to occur in Prairie du Chien since at least 2010, when he began working for the city.