Baldwin Meets With La Crosse Residents To Discuss Rail Safety

As more Bakken oil makes its way through Wisconsin from North Dakota to oil refineries, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., met with La Crosse residents on Tuesday to discuss their growing concerns for rail safety in the region.

One group of residents, Citizens Acting for Rail Safety, say they’re concerned about rail’s effect on neighborhoods, possible spills in the area’s rivers and marshes, and bridge safety. They showed Baldwin photos of railroad bridges in the area that were held up by stacked wood and appear to be crumbling. At least one of the bridges is scheduled to be replaced next year.

Baldwin said she’ll learn more about the condition of bridges as soon as she gets back to Washington.

“I’m alarmed by the images that I was shown today,” she said. “Never seen those before. I think they deserve a very quick response from the federal government in terms of what measures are being taken to ensure adequate and timely inspection.”

The meeting comes just after Baldwin submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Transportation about proposed rail safety rules. In her comments, she suggested phasing out outdated cars sooner than what a proposed government rule would require and for rail companies to provide more transparency to local communities about what’s being shipped.

CARS member Guy Wolf said Baldwin’s proposal to stabilize oil and make it safer to transport was important to the group.

“Her highest priority of taking volatile gases off the trains was our priority in terms of safety. There’s no doubt about that in our mind,” said Wolf.

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will be in La Crosse on Wednesday to meet with CARS members, Rep. Ron Kind and others about rail safety in the region.