A train operator hit the brakes too fast, causing last November’s derailment in which 20,000 gallons of ethanol spilled into the Mississippi River.
The Burlington Northern-Santa Fe railroad investigated the mishap from last November near Alma. BNSF recently submitted its findings to the federal government.
The report says that the 112-car southbound train was traveling at 26-miles per hour when it jumped the tracks, and five cars leaked ethanol into the Mississippi. No one was hurt, and BNSF says there was $2.1 million in damage to its tracks and equipment.
The derailment was one of two in Wisconsin on the same weekend, as 500 gallons of crude oil were spilled in a mishap at Watertown. The spill into the river spurred numerous calls by politicians to pass tougher regulations on trains carrying North Dakota crude and other chemicals.
WAYY
