Wisconsin Rep. Van Orden: BNSF touted rail safety days before train derailment
DE SOTO, Wis. – Work is still underway to clean up the mess from a train derailment last week in southwest Wisconsin.
It happened Thursday afternoon near De Soto, which is about 30 miles south of La Crosse. Two of the train's cars fell into the Mississippi River and floated downstream, eventually washing up on the shoreline. All of the derailed cars have since been removed.
U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who represents that area of Wisconsin, says he was in talks with the rail company before the crash because of safety concerns.
"Thursday, these trains shot off the rails and wound up in the Mississippi River. So one week ago, I was assured by the BNSF railroad that they're taken all the precautions they could to make sure this wouldn't happen, and it did," Van Orden said.
Van Orden also praised the emergency response from the local to the federal level.
Four crew members were hurt in the crash, but have been treated and released from the hospital.
Federal investigators are still looking into what caused the crash.
In March, a BNSF train derailed and started on fire in Raymond, Minnesota -- causing hundreds of people to evacuate the area.