Topline
The city of Raymond, Minnesota, was put under an evacuation order early Thursday following a train derailment that sparked a fire, the latest in a string of recent train derailments that have garnered national attention.
A Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train derailed early Thursday morning in Raymond, Minnesota.
Key Facts
Law enforcement became aware of the train derailment at approximately 1 a.m. local time on Thursday, according to the Kandiyohi County’s Sheriff’s Office, discovering “numerous rail cars” had derailed on a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train.
Several of the derailed tankers on the train caught on fire, the sheriff’s office reported, and train cars were determined to be carrying a form of ethanol—which is highly flammable—and corn syrup.
An evacuation area was established for a half-mile around the train site, and law enforcement advised that while the fire is being contained, there should be no travel to Raymond, located approximately two hours west of Minneapolis.
A highway running through the town was closed as a result of the derailment, the Minnesota Department of Transportation reported as of 3 a.m.
The reason for the train derailment is still under investigation, CNN reports, and Lisa Kent, general director of public affairs for BNSF Railway, told the outlet that no injuries had been reported.
Key Background
The Raymond train derailment comes soon after a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that garnered national controversy. The derailment caused the release of one million gallons of hazardous chemicals, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, sparking widespread environmental concerns and reported impacts on humans and animals. The Biden Administration faced widespread criticism over its perceived failure to address the derailment quickly enough, and Ohio sued Norfolk Southern Railway for what it alleged was an “entirely avoidable” disaster. A number of other train derailments have also drawn national attention in recent weeks, particularly in the wake of the East Palestine disaster, including recent incidents in North Dakota, California, Arizona, Florida, West Virginia, Michigan, Oklahoma, Alabama and Nebraska. The trend has sparked a new bipartisan push in Congress for a railroad safety bill to address the concern the recent train derailments have garnered, with lawmakers introducing legislation that would strengthen safety requirements for trains carrying hazardous materials.
Surprising Fact
Despite the seeming recent rash of high-profile train derailments, they’ve been a fairly common occurrence even before this. There were 1,164 train derailments in 2022, according to the Federal Railroad Administration, which averages approximately three derailments each day. While slightly higher than the number of derailments in 2021 (1,095), train derailments were actually down by 13.1% last year as compared with 2019 (1,340 derailments).
Further Reading
Homes evacuated after train carrying ethanol derails and catches fire in Minnesota (CNN)
Ohio Sues Norfolk Southern For ‘Entirely Avoidable’ East Palestine Train Derailment (Forbes)
There are about 3 U.S. train derailments per day. They aren’t usually major disasters (NPR)
Trains keep derailing all over the country, including Thursday in Washington. What’s going on? (USA Today)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/03/30/minnesota-town-raymond-evacuated-after-train-derailment/