ST.PAUL (KFGO-AM) - DFL State Representative Paul Marquart of Dilworth says there are no promises but he think's the oil train derailment near Heimdal, North Dakota will ramp up a stalled bill that's led by Governor Dayton for rail safety improvements.
He says there are 326,000 people who live with a half mile of oil trains passing through Minnesota from North Dakota. That's in the so-called "blast zone" that would have to be evacuated should an oil train derail.
The proposal would assess major railway companies 33 million dollars a year over ten years for rail crossing improvements, plus bonding dollars for major upgrades in Moorhead, Willmar, Prairie Island and Coon Rapids.