Our community had a long discussion last night at Webber Park with representatives of the Canadian Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads.
They pointed out what I pointed out earlier this year. The railroads were trying to make their use of the rail tracks more efficient, which would have lessened the number of trains through Camden. The County made a big effort to block the railroads from spreading out the traffic through the suburbs. I asked the state Department of Transportation to find out the effect of the county blocking the railroads from shifting trains to a route through the suburbs. They were told by the railroads that their generalized plan was roughly that without the shift the suburban route would have 2 per day and Camden would have 24. If the county had not blocked the shift, 12 of the trains through Camden would have gone the suburban route
The railroads explained that they don't control the type of cars oil or hazardous materials are carried in; that is up to federal regulations. They also said that only 5% of the trains through the Twin Cities are Bakken crude oil, and that of the volatile materials, it is one of the least flammable. They said they are limited to 35 miles per hour in cities; and that the engineers are required to blow their horn when there is anyone or an animal on the track (which accounts for most of the horns disturbing neighbors). The state, county and city have almost no say on what railroads do; they are controlled by the federal government which preempts state or local regulations.
They pointed out that people want the trains to get through the area quicker so autos aren't held up a long time at crossings; but the faster the trains go, the less safety, because there is more chance for a derailment. There was also discussion by the Fire Chief and the railroads regarding the extensive plans for safety in case one of the rare emissions occurs. I think we were all surprised by the explanations of some of the new technical abilities they have to catch possible problems before they occur.