More DM&E safety problems
'Fatigued steel' leads to derailment
Rochester Post-Bulletin, Tue, Aug 22, 2006
Two accidents -- a derailment in Austin and a truck collision in Utica -- tied up Iowa, Chicago & Eastern trains Monday.
First, six corn-filled IC&E rail cars owned by Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad derailed in Austin.
The railroad said in a statement that a preliminary investigation shows the cause to be "a broken rail due to fatigued steel."
The train blocked at least one intersection in Austin for much of the day. No injuries were reported.
Another IC&E train was struck by a truck hauling gravel at Winona County Road 33 crossing.
No injuries were reported, although the crash did cause the track to be blocked in that area.
"I don't have an additional details right now on Utica," said DM&E spokesman Jafar Karim this morning.
The railroad, which has proposed an expansion and upgrade plan for its tracks, blamed the project's opponents for delaying it and trying to block a possible $2.3 billion federal loan.
"The Austin derailment would not have happened if the DM&E had been allowed to upgrade our track when we proposed," said Karim.
The Rochester Coalition, which includes Mayo Clinic, Olmsted County, the city of Rochester and Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce, is citing the derailments as a reason why the railroad should not be given the federal loan.
Rochester Post-Bulletin, Tue, Aug 22, 2006
Two accidents -- a derailment in Austin and a truck collision in Utica -- tied up Iowa, Chicago & Eastern trains Monday.
First, six corn-filled IC&E rail cars owned by Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad derailed in Austin.
The railroad said in a statement that a preliminary investigation shows the cause to be "a broken rail due to fatigued steel."
The train blocked at least one intersection in Austin for much of the day. No injuries were reported.
Another IC&E train was struck by a truck hauling gravel at Winona County Road 33 crossing.
No injuries were reported, although the crash did cause the track to be blocked in that area.
"I don't have an additional details right now on Utica," said DM&E spokesman Jafar Karim this morning.
The railroad, which has proposed an expansion and upgrade plan for its tracks, blamed the project's opponents for delaying it and trying to block a possible $2.3 billion federal loan.
"The Austin derailment would not have happened if the DM&E had been allowed to upgrade our track when we proposed," said Karim.
The Rochester Coalition, which includes Mayo Clinic, Olmsted County, the city of Rochester and Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce, is citing the derailments as a reason why the railroad should not be given the federal loan.
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