WILLMAR — The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced at 9:30 p.m. Friday that it has reopened Minnesota Highway 23 at Raymond. The highway had been closed there since early Thursday due to the BNSF Railway train derailment.
More than 20 cars derailed about 1 a.m. Thursday, and the ethanol that leaked from some of the tanker cars burned. Much of the town was evacuated until late Thursday morning.
The Willmar City Council has OK'd payment for services related to BNSF Railway certification, which designates rail-served sites as meeting the rail company's readiness standards for development.
A purchase agreement has been drafted and signed by Midwest & Bluegrass Rail for the development of a 145-acre intermodal distribution center.
A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report states a section of fractured track has been sent to a laboratory as part of investigation into cause of the March 30 derailment of a BNSF Railway train in Raymond.
BNSF Railway provided Raymond residents with $300 gift cards as cleanup continues at a fast pace after a train derailed there Thursday forcing evacuation.
Following a 22-car BNSF train derailment during the early-morning hours of Thursday, March 30, 2023, workers continue cleaning up the site this week.
State and federal lawmakers toured the site Friday of the BNSF train derailment in Raymond.
The Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority, based in Morton, had one of nine projects that received funds from the Minnesota Rail Service Improvement program.
Residents evacuated from their homes after a BNSF train derailed at 1 a.m. in Raymond on Thursday, March 30, 2023.
Many Raymond residents were not awakened by the sound, but it wasn't long before neighbors, volunteers and law enforcement officers were knocking on doors to start the evacuation process.
Everybody who was trained to help in emergency situations such as the train derailment overnight in Raymond showed up and knew exactly what needed to be done.
Cleanup was continuing Friday, and the National Transportation Safety Board was at the scene investigating the cause of the crash.
The highway had been detoured around the city of Raymond.
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Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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