45 coal train cars derail near Pillager, USA

Coal and crushed metal littered the BNSF Railway train tracks early Monday near Pillager as crews worked to clear the scene of a massive train derailment.

About 45 train cars carrying coal left the tracks at about 11:15 p.m. Sunday in Sylvan Township, west of Pillager near County Road 101 and the Bigwater Addition Estates.

No one was hurt and there were no hazardous materials or threat to public safety, according to the Cass County Sheriff’s Department.

The 122-car train was traveling eastbound from Montana to Wisconsin, carrying three crew members.

The cars that didn’t derail were moved so crews could clear the disheveled scene.

Crews using excavators and front-end loaders will work day and night removing extensive piles of coal and large pieces of train cars from the tracks, rail officials said.

Amy McBeth, BNSF Railway spokeswoman, said the company hopes to have the scene cleared by Wednesday morning, though that is still an early estimate.

“They’ll work as safely and as quickly as they can,” she said.

Workers set up Monday along Hazel Avenue for the initial cleanup. Sounds of screeching metal could be heard on the side street as machines lifted, removed pieces of train cars Monday.

Coal piled higher than train cars in some places. Other train cars sat smashed together, making it hard to decipher where one car ended and another began.

Once the coal and train cars are removed, crews will repair the main and side tracks, which were damaged during the derailment.

No other property was damaged, McBeth said. The speed of the train was not immediately available.

An investigation into the incident will be completed by the Cass County Sheriff’s Office and BNSF Railway officials.

“BNSF conducts a full investigation so that we can learn from what happened and work to prevent it from happening again. We will evaluate all aspects of the incident, including conditions on the ground, the track and mechanical equipment,” McBeth said.

The railroad company will submit its investigative report on the incident to the Federal Railroad Administration. Until that is sent, it will be considered an open investigation.

Cass County Sheriff Tom Burch is asking residents to stay out of the affected areas until work is complete: Bigwater Drive southwest at County Road 101 (132nd Street) and Bigwater Drive southwest at Arrowhead Drive southwest.

Access to this area using 45th Avenue southwest and Lake Placid Boulevard southwest are still available.

According to the Staples World newspaper, the derailment occurred on the same railway line as a 1984 train collision that killed three railroad workers. In the 1984 crash, two coal trains collided head-on near Motley in a wooded area about a mile south of the intersection of Highway 210 and the Bridgeman Road in May Township.