“Human error” the cause of Alma 25-car train derailment

BNSF says conductor hit brakes too quickly

Human error is being blamed for the derailment that caused a large ethanol spill in the Mississippi River in Alma, Wis.

The BNSF railroad says a train operator hit the brakes too quickly last November. As a result, 25 cars jumped the tracks.

The train was going just under 30 miles an hour at the time. More than 20,000 gallons of fuel leaked from five tankers on the train.