(REESEVILLE) Dodge County officials are hoping federal partners prioritize their investigation into repeated train derailments that have plagued a local stretch of track.
In August, 22 cars were derailed just west of the village of Reeseville spilling large amounts of crude oil. On the Fourth of July two years ago, another train derailed in approximately the same location.
Dodge County has asked the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Railroad Administration to quickly identify the cause. The county’s Emergency Management Director Joe Meagher says it’s paramount that corrective action is taken as soon as possible to help prevent future incidents.
“We know there’s a lot of train cars through here and it’s freight but it’s also passenger rail,” says Meagher. “So, we really plead to the NTSB that we need to put priority on this and determine why at the same location within just over two years that something like this happened. A very high priority…a high concern for us right now.”
Meagher notes that it typically takes the NTSB around a year to investigate a train derailment. The Dodge County Board also plans to send them a letter urging a quick resolution.
