| Neil Johnson, Reporter/Anchor, Big Radio |
Authorities are investigating what caused a derailment of four train cars near Janesville’s Five Points on Tuesday, but regulators say they know the cars were loaded with soybeans.
Milton resident Don Vruwink, Wisconsin Railroad Commissioner appointee, says his office already received a report on the derailment by the train’s operator, Union Pacific railroad.
Federal railroad authorities will be investigating the cause, but that could take weeks. Meanwhile, Vruwink says the Union Pacific is responsible to repair any damage to the rail and rail bed at the section of track near Franklin Street on the edge of downtown Janesville.
The Five Points area has a train switch yard and a controlled crossing with five streets intersecting, including the thoroughfare Centerway. It’s one of 4,200 train crossings in Wisconsin.
No one working for the railroad and no motorists were hurt during the tip-over, and adjacent street intersections were open within hours. The cars spilled an undisclosed amount of harvested soybeans around the track and near one street that leads into the Five Points.
Vruwink says it’s the “sixth or seventh” train derailment this year, although he points out Janesville’s was a minor one, with less complexity than other derailments. Those derailments include one between La Crosse and Prairie Du Chien that sent 13 cars skittering off the rails. Two of the cars in that wreck ended up in the Mississippi River.
It’s not clear what caused the grain cars to skip the rails in Janesville on Tuesday, but Vruwink says a federal investigation, which is standard course, could show if it was a train car malfunction or a larger problem with the tracks where the tip over happened.
The stretch of track near where the derailment happened is due for state mandated upgrades which would allow trains to carry loads with more weight through Janesville than the line is now rated for.
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