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Dec 18, 2008 2:16 pm US/Central
Train Crash Occurred At Switching Station
DRESBACH, Minn. (AP) ―
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Two Canadian-Pacific freight trains collided in southeastern Minnesota early Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008, derailing 40 cars, some of which plunged into the Mississippi River
CBS
A freight train collision in southeast Minnesota occurred when one train's locomotive hit the middle of a 93-car train at a switching station designed to let two trains pass each other, a railroad spokesman said Thursday.
The sequence of events that led to the crash remains under investigation, said Mike LoVecchio, spokesman for Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., which operated both trains.
"An incident like this is extremely rare," LoVecchio said in a telephone interview from Calgary, Alberta. "We need to know what happened. At this point, it would be pure speculation as to why it happened."
Canadian Pacific has had 16 accidents in the U.S. this year through September, according to online Federal Railroad Administration records. Six of them occurred in Minnesota.
Wednesday's crash near Dresbach derailed 26 cars, plunged one locomotive into the Mississippi River and forced the evacuation of about 25 disabled veterans from a rest home after a propane tank at the switching station ruptured. None of the four workers on the trains were seriously injured.
A second engine damaged in the crash leaked diesel fuel, but the fluid was contained on land, authorities said.
LoVecchio said the shorter train -- with two locomotives and 15 cars loaded with fertilizer -- was on the main tracks going east when it crashed into an empty car on the longer westbound train, which was using a siding, which is essentially a passing lane.
The siding, which has switches connecting it back to the main track, permits one train to move around another, LoVecchio said. He didn't know how fast the trains were going when they collided.
"You are talking about very heavy machinery with a lot of momentum. We are very, very happy that there were no injuries," LoVecchio said.
The Federal Railroad Administration sent three inspectors to the derailment, launching a probe that it said may take several months to complete.
The main track was cleared of debris by midday Thursday and repairs had started, LoVecchio said. But the locomotive was still in the Mississippi River, and he didn't know when the track would reopen.
"Given Amtrak does use our track, obviously we don't want to inconvenience Amtrak passengers especially this time of year," he said. "I do think work will commence swiftly on the reconstruction."
Amtrak said the derailment forced passengers at seven Wisconsin and Minnesota stations to take a bus to Chicago or Minneapolis to board a train.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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