Congress To Take Up Oil Train Safety

Congress will take a closer look Wednesday at the safety of oil trains rolling through Wisconsin and many other states.

Wisconsin Railroads Commissioner Jeff Plale says he’s encouraged that the federal government and a group of freight railroads recently came to an agreement on tanker inspections, worker training, and re-routing of some hazardous materials around urban areas.

Plale says it’s part of an ongoing effort to prevent the type of oil train explosions that have shook several North American cities in the past year.

“I get the question every once in a while: could something like that happen in Wisconsin? And sarcastically, I want to say, ‘Well, no, we have laws against that,’ but yes, of course it could,” Plale said.

Plale says he also recently followed a directive from Gov. Walker and met with the state DOT and freight railroad executives in Wisconsin.

Plale was not at the meeting in southeastern Minnesota this week, at which La Crosse officials reportedly raised concerns about having not enough resources to help respond to train fires.

Plale says there’s no simple answer, “but I think there is recognition, especially in light of the volume of crude oil that’s moving through this country, that there has to be resources available that address that.”

Plale says he’ll be interested to learn what comes out of a rail safety hearing that a congressional subcommittee is holding on Capitol Hill.