(Published Wednesday, May 9, 2007 11:43:51 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Stacy Vogel Gazette staff
FULTON TOWNSHIP-The Fulton Town Board is requesting an inspection of the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad line after two derailments in two months within 100 feet.
The board approved two resolutions Tuesday directed at the state Legislature and Gov. Jim Doyle concerning the rail line. The first, created by Town Chairman Evan Sayre and other town officials, asked for a mile-by-mile inspection of the line through Walworth, Rock and Dane counties by the Federal Railroad Administration.
The second, created by officials from the railroad, expressed support for upgrades planned by the state and the rail company in those counties.
The move comes after two derailments near Rock River Road in Fulton Township. On Feb. 16, 14 cars tipped over in one of the biggest Rock County derailments in recent memory. Seven cars derailed April 21 in almost the same spot.
Weather was blamed for both incidents. In the first, severe cold weakened the rail and caused it to snap under the train's weight, while warm weather caused the rail to expand in the second, railroad officials said.
But the underlying reason for both was track condition, said Ben Meighan, head of maintenance for Wisconsin & Southern.
"Bottom line here, the rail is worn out," he said at the meeting.
The problems go beyond general maintenance, railroad officials said. The company inspects the lines two to three times a week, more than federally required, said Ken Lucht, community development manager.
Since the derailments, the company has instituted a 10 mph speed limit in the area and installed extra rail ties to temporarily strengthen the track, he said.
"The issues that are happening in the town of Fulton aren't related to lack of maintenance or negligence on behalf of the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co.," he said.
"What's happening in the town of Fulton is clearly aged and outdated rail that's over 90 years old and was originally installed and built to handle much lighter rail cars than we see today."
Although Wisconsin & Southern is responsible for maintenance of the rail lines, the state owns the track and the land it runs on. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation contributes 80 percent of the money for improvements to the track.
The governor's preliminary budget for the next two years includes $22 million for upgrades to the publicly owned railroad system. Wisconsin & Southern has requested $6 million of that for upgrades in Rock County, Lucht said.
The company drafted the resolution supporting upgrade money because it felt it would be more effective than an investigation, he said.
But the board still passed a resolution asking the state to request an inspection from the Federal Railroad Administration to ensure the track meets standards.
The administration would take such a request seriously, said Warren Flatau, a Federal Railroad Administration spokesman.
"FRA's practice is to investigate safety complaints," he said. "Certainly if we do receive such a request, we will seek to be as responsive as possible."
Rodney Kreunen, state railroad commissioner, said the town board is right to be concerned.
"In my 50 years of railroading, I've never seen two spills in the same spot with the same railroad within two months," he said.
