DE SOTO, Wis. — BNSF Railway operations resumed today (Saturday, April 29) past the site of a Thursday derailment that injured four crew members and sent some cars into the Mississippi River. Clean-up at the site is continuing.
The derailment occurred about 12:15 p.m. Thursday between the towns of De Soto and Ferryville, Wis., blocking the BNSF main line between Chicago and the Twin Cities [see “Injuries reported in BNSF derailment …,” Trains News Wire, April 27, 2023]. The La Crosse Tribune reports the four injured crew members were all released from the hospital by Friday, with the most seriously injured suffering a broken collarbone.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers visited the site Friday, as did representatives of U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson and U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden. Evers said flooding may have caused or contributed to the derailment, although the cause is still under investigation.
The derailed cars carried paint, oxygen containers, and lithium-ion batteries, according to a Crawford County emergency official, but all materials have been recovered or contained.
In an updated advisory to customers, BNSF reports it reopened one track at the derailment site at 11:38 a.m. on Saturday and the second at 4:23 p.m.
— Updated at April 30 at 9:15 a.m. CDT with details on reopening.
