FRAZEE, Minn. — BNSF Railway is estimating it will reopen the first of two tracks at the site of Thursday’s two-train derailment in Frazee by midnight today (Friday, Feb. 18), the railroad says in an update to customers on its website.
Track 2 will be the first to reopen. A time for reopening Track 1 has not yet been determined.
The incident occurred about 9 a.m. Thursday when one train derailed, striking and derailing a stopped train on the adjacent track [see “BNSF train derails in Minnesota …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 17, 2022]. KVLY-TV reports residents of Valley View Road, parallel to the derailment site, were evacuated as a precautionary move after officials determined some of the cars or containers involved were carrying lithium batteries and petroleum, although no hazardous material situation resulted and the cargo was not posing a problem for cleanup efforts.
As of 6 p.m. Thursday, the residents remained out of their homes.
Amtrak’s tracker showed the eastbound empire builder off of its normal route on what appeared to be the Wilmar line this morning.