Update Wednesday, July 30: The Winona Daily news provides a more accurate update on the wreck in Train carrying ethanol comes off the tracks in Reno. Reno, Minnesota, is just north of the Iowa border in Houston County. [end update]
This morning, a Twin Cities blogger wondered why the PiPress didn't name the rail company which experienced a derailment on tracks along the Mississippi River. The Rochester Post Bulletin wasn't so stoic:
Minnesota Highway 26 between Brownsville and New Albin, Iowa, is closed because of the derailment of 20 cars of an Iowa, Chicago & Eastern train.
The Houston County Sheriff's Department said the derailment was reported at 5:22 a.m. There are no known injuries, the department reported, and traffic is being detoured around the area.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation says at least one of the cars is carrying alcohol and 20 are in the Mississippi River. A hazardous materials team is enroute to the scene, MnDOT said.
The Iowa, Chicago & Eastern is part of the DM & E railroad. A November 2006 DM & E derailment near Courtland caused Highway 68 to be closed while an ethanol spill was cleaned up.
The controversy over a $2.3 billion loan for the DM & E railroad to upgrade its track in order to run up to 34 mile-long coal trains each day was an important issue in the 2006 MN-01 congressional race. The Mayo Clinic and Rochester Coalition opposed the expansion over safety and quality-of -life issues. The loan was turned down by the federal government in late February 2007 when a reviewer determined that the railroad was not a good credit risk for such a large amount.
The DM & E was soon acquired by the Canadian Pacific Rail. Plans for the upgrade are continuing. In May 2008, the Rochester Coalition and the Mayo Clinic raised questions about the amount of ethanol that the railroad planned to ship through Rochester.
The Post Bulletin published a letter from the Track the Truth grassroots committee on July 11, 2008, DM&E isn't sitting still, and Rochester can't afford to, either.
Comments