Governor Tim Walz Reacts to Raymond Train Derailment

(KNSI) — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz got a first hand look at the fiery train derailment in Raymond, Minnesota, Thursday morning.

The train was carrying mixed freight of ethanol and corn syrup when it went off the tracks around 1:00. The jumbled pile of rail cars was still smoldering when Walz arrived in the town of fewer than 800 people around 9:00.

He says a uniformed officer was at his door at 2:30 with the news. He says his first reaction was, “Is anybody injured?” After that, he asked about evacuation efforts and what needed to be done. Then, his thoughts went to the devastating train derailment on February 3rd in East Palestine. “Certainly all of us, since the situation in Ohio, are very concerned. ‘What are we breathing? What’s in the car?'”

Walz explained information flowed quickly from Burlington Northern and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about what was in the cars and the threat it posed to the residents.

Walz served in Congress and was on the Transportation Committee and said the cars that derailed were specialized. “It was a decision made about a dozen years ago, we needed to have new types of cars if we’re going to carry ethanol. And these are the kinds of encapsulated cars that are basically triple hull that they won’t explode if they’re hit. If something like this happens, you don’t have a massive fireball. And I do think it should be noted, there was a timeline to do this, whenever Burlington Northern made the decision to replace all their cars. It’s my guess that that’s probably why this contained a little bit more.”

He said the cars are punctured, and they are leaking. However, the good news is that the ground is still relatively frozen, and the ethanol will burn off. Still, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is monitoring the air and especially the water quality, as the fire must be extinguished with foam. “This will be foam that doesn’t contain PFAS, the forever chemicals, you hear about; the potential carcinogens. So there will be a heavy monitoring of this by federal, state, and local authorities.”

As the cars move, Walz warns, “the fire will flare up again. That doesn’t mean they’re going to explode. And it’s not a bad thing. That’s just what’s going to happen. And then they will foam these things down. And then they will do the cleanup.”

Members of the National Transportation Safety Board will arrive in Raymond later Thursday. The Federal Railroad Administration and top officials with BNSF are already there.

The town was evacuated after the derailment and ensuing fire, but that evacuation order has been lifted.

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