(The following story by Dan Daly appeared on the Rapid City Journal website on July 28.)
RAPID CITY, S.D. — The exact cause of Sunday’s train derailment south of Rapid City has not been determined, according to Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad president Kevin Schieffer.
However, he said indications are that the mishap was likely the result of bad railroad track.
Train cars, laden with bentonite clay, derailed about 3:30 p.m. Sunday near Old Folsom Road south of Rapid City. The mishap started a small grass fire. Schieffer said the track was repaired the same day.
The line that runs south from Rapid City to Crawford, Neb., is lightly used. DM&E runs one to two trains a week south from Rapid City, Schieffer said. The bulk of its traffic travels east toward Pierre, Huron and points east.
Schieffer said the track on the southern route is very old, he said. “That steel’s not getting any fresher,” he said.
Schieffer said much of the company’s system runs on lightweight 80-year-old track that must be replaced. He said the company’s $2.5 billion proposal to rebuild and extend its east-west line into the coalfields of northeast Wyoming would do just that. He has argued that the derailments such as Sunday’s accident illustrate why the project is needed.
However, the Mayo Clinic and the Rochester Coalition say Sunday’s Rapid City derailment, and another Sunday derailment on a DM&E-affiliated line in Iowa, are the newest examples of why the coal line should not be built.
The groups are pushing for a bypass around Rochester, Minn., and the Mayo Clinic there. They say a newly upgraded line would present a danger to residents and patients, because it would bring more traffic with larger, faster trains right through the city.
Last week, the coalition submitted a report to the Federal Railway Administration that outlines DM&E’s safety record. They hope to persuade the FRA to deny a $2.5 billion loan to DM&E for the project.
“This railroad has the worst safety record in its class,” said Dr. Glenn Forbes, chief executive officer of Mayo Clinic. “Sunday’s accidents highlight the danger Mayo Clinic, Rochester and every community along the line face with DM&E.”
He said only half of DM&E accidents in recent years have been blamed on bad track.