ST. PAUL, Minn. - Today, Minnesota is hosting its first statewide rail conference. The spotlight is on the freight rail, but there was a groundbreaking ceremony for a Minneapolis-Eden Prairie light rail just last week.
Governor Dayton set up a Council on Freight Rail in response to concern about the movement of oil between 2013 and 2014. Since then, figuring out rail safety has been the primary focus.
The council involves multiple agencies: the Department of Agriculture, the Pollution Control Agency, the Department of Revenue and others.
More groups and leaders from multiple levels of government and the rail industry will be discussing rail safety with the council today for the first time.
"Part of it is just sharing information, getting a greater spotlight," MnDOT Commissioner Charlie Zelle said.
The conference will be at the Minnesota Department of Revenue starting at 9 a.m. It is open to the public and will be livestreamed online.