Baldwin, Franken Join Minneapolis Summit To Address Rail Safety

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., will meet on Wednesday with various parties regarding oil trains that roll through several Midwestern states.

The Democratic lawmakers will talk in Minneapolis with state and local officials, first-responders and rail safety advocates.

Baldwin said one topic will be her effort in the pending federal transportation bill to help more firefighters be aware of what’s rolling through their city.

“The first-responders need to know how to respond to spills into bodies of water, spills into communities and certainly explosions,” she said.

Baldwin said besides crude oil from the Bakken fields of North Dakota, she wants local officials to know more about shipments of various chemicals.

Officials with the railroad industry said rail is the safest way to transport certain materials, and that major problems are rare.