(The Associated Press circulated the following story on January 21.)
ORR, Minn. — Whizzing trains have some residents of Orr in an uproar.
Concerns of safety have prompted the circulation of a petition intended to get the Canadian National Railway to slow down. Since December, train speeds have increased from 49 mph to 60 mph.
Brian Bruns, the petition’s organizer, wants the train tracks to be moved outside the city, allowing for further development of a proposed four-lane expansion of U.S. Highway 53.
Canadian National Railway spent more than $20 million upgrading the track to allow for the increased speed, said Jack Burke, a CNR spokesman based in Chicago. He noted that crossings in and near the community have also been improved to make for safer crossings.
“We do not think it’s an unsafe situation and the Federal Railroad Administration concurs,” Burke said. “We wouldn’t run at that speed if we thought it unsafe.”
Bruns is worried that a train could derail, plowing through a nearby school.
But Burke said the railroad came before the school. “If people thought having the school close to the railroad presented danger, why build the school there no matter what the speed?” he said.
Burke apologizes for CNR’s failure to notify Orr of the increased speeds.
Orr is about 45 miles southeast of International Falls.