Minnesota’s Gov. Tim Walz traveled to Raymond last Thursday morning to survey the site where a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train carrying ethanol derailed along Highway 23 just west of the city of Raymond.

The governor met with residents and offered the state’s full support. The governor is coordinating closely with the United States Department of Transportation, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Minnesota Department of Public Safety, and Homeland Security and Emergency Management to protect the health and safety of the Raymond community, it was stated by his office last week. 

 “I am immensely grateful for the swift, coordinated response between local, state, and national partners to ensure the immediate safety of the Raymond community,” said Walz. “This incident has highlighted the critical need to invest in rail safety and the state’s emergency management response to prevent incidents like this from happening again.”   

 As the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Rail Safety during his time in Congress, Walz helped secure requirements around puncture-resistant DOT-117J tank cars to reduce fatalities during the transport of hazardous materials.  

 The governor’s proposed budget makes significant investments in rail safety including:

 •$600,000 for rail safety inspectors to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations 

•Over $1 million annually to fund state emergency response assets and ensure response teams are ready to respond across the state when major emergency incidents occur

•$40 million in increased funding for the Disaster Assistance Contingency Account to help communities respond to and recover from disasters

•$1 million each year to support firefighter training and education

•Increasing funding for the Fire Safety Account to ensure fire agencies across the state have sustainable resources to support their work