Train cars lie overturned outside of Alma, Wis. after derailing on…
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According to the state railroad inspector, the train was 100 cars long.
Residents who evacuated dozens of homes were still being kept away Monday as 12 derailed cars were moved to a temporary track.
Early Sunday afternoon, a Canadian Pacific Railway train derailed in Watertown, dumping at least 10 cars from the tracks and spilling crude oil from leaking derailed cars. Twenty five cars derailed, including empty auto racks and tanker cars of denatured alcohol, more commonly known as ethanol. The derailment prompted a highway closure and voluntary evacuations of area residents.
Crews are still trying to remove pieces of the freight train. They plan to hold another press conference at 7 Monday night.
The cause of the derailment is not clear, but there were no reports of injuries, smoke or fire.
In Milwaukee, the tankers pass through downtown, lumbering over train trestles and brushing close to offices and condominiums. “I don’t have a speed gun, but they come through here pretty quick”. The agency has also ordered freight rail companies to remove faulty parts it says have been involved in multiple oil train leaks. In this case, re-railing the cars took longer than we estimated. This route runs from the Twin Cities to La Crosse and points beyond in either direction.
It was the third derailment on the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife Refuge in the last nine months, according to Citizens Acting for Rail Safety, a group focusing on rail safety and traffic. Work on repairing the tracks can start as soon as the derailed vehicles are put upright. “A few tank cars had crude oil”, the railroad authority said.
One vehicle that was punctured in the derailment leaked about 1,000 gallons of crude oil, but the leak didn’t cause an environmental hazard, with the spilled oil siphoned off and none reaching a waterway.
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Five of the tanker cars released ethanol into the Mississippi, the company said. It is anticipated that the tracks will become functional on Monday, November 9, morning.
