WADENA, Minn. -- Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railways is expected to have both tracks open by Thursday, while at least partial service resumed Tuesday, after a derailment of 32 train cars about 6:30 a.m. Monday four miles northwest of Wadena.
An army of workers and heavy equipment was on site Tuesday morning, one-half mile southeast of Bluffton, clearing debris and replacing track. A train stood by outside Wadena Tuesday morning with a load of crushed rock ready to replace the railroad bed.
BNSF spokeswoman Amy McBeth said the first track was to be reopened was 10 a.m. Tuesday -- just 28 hours after the crash occurred -- allowing partial railway service to start again.
No one was injured in the derailment, according to McBeth, and a Hazmat team determined the accident posed no danger to public health.
The 92-car train was headed from Grand Forks to Minneapolis carrying primarily sugar and sugar products. About 32 cars were empty oil tankers.
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The cause of the derailment is under investigation according to McBeth.
"One incident is too many," McBeth said. "We want to prevent all incidents from occurring."
McBeth said it is not BNSF policy to report the financial loss of a derailment.
On Monday, fire department trucks from Bluffton, Wadena and New York Mills took turns at the derailment site. Sub-zero temperatures made it necessary for the fire trucks to return to their station houses in order to keep water supplies from freezing.
Wadena fire chief Dean Uselman said Monday's car derailment was the first one he can remember in the immediate area in his 30 years as a firefighter..
"Considering the miles of track, the chances that it will ever happen here again are pretty rare," said Uselman.
McBeth said BNSF will be filing a full report with the Federal Railroad Administration.
