CLARA CITY -- It will still be days before the last of the derailed train cars are removed, but cleanup activities are moving faster than expected in Clara City.
Damage to the railroad tracks was not as extensive as people initially believed, which will make it possible to get things back to normal sooner than anticipated, according to Steve Forsberg, general director of public affairs for BNSF Railway.
The main line had been reopened to traffic early Tuesday morning.
Crews have been working to remove the contaminated soil from the hydrochloric acid spill, as well as the derailed train cars and locomotives, according to Forsberg. Each locomotive weighs in the neighborhood of 200 tons, he noted.
Operations at the Farmers Co-operative Elevator in Clara City adjacent to the accident site are back to normal as well. Cleanup efforts allowed the elevator to resume operations on its side track on Tuesday, according to Rich Leiseth, elevator manager.
ADVERTISEMENT
The early morning derailment accident Monday had come only 30 to 40 minutes before elevator workers were to begin loading a unit train on the side track, which runs parallel to the railroad's own side track and main line.
Forsberg said Thursday that the main work remaining now will be for crews to dismantle or cut the damaged train cars at the site so that they can be removed. There is ample room at the site for the work, so it can be completed with minimal disruption in the community.
City officials said they are hoping to reopen the Overpass Road where the accident occurred to traffic later today. It has been closed as a courtesy to the railroad and its contractors working on the cleanup.
Forsberg said the quick and coordinated response to the accident by both public and private entities helped minimize the potential for harm. "A lot of resources were applied quickly and for the right reasons,'' he said.
The BNSF Railway and the Federal Railroad Administration are both conducting investigations into the cause of the accident. The investigations are expected to take several weeks to complete.
The accident on Monday was triggered when the last car derailed on a southbound train that was pulling onto the side rail. A northbound train traveling on the main line at approximately 35 miles per hour struck the derailed car.
The chain reaction that resulted caused a total of 68 cars to derail, according to Forsberg. The derailed cars included 58 empty ethanol cars on the side track. On the main track, the accident caused locomotives and the next three cars, as well as the 22nd and 23rd cars of the train to derail.
The investigation will look at what caused the last car of the train pulling on to the side rail to derail, according to Forsberg.
