Baxter Southern

​Aerial photo of the derailment of the two locomotives and eight hopper cars. Two additional hopper cars are submerged in the river. (Source: BNSF)​

NTSB: ‘Incorrectly Identified’ Caution Area Led to BNSF Derailment

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently stated in a report that the probable cause of a November 2021 collision between towing vessel Baxter Southern and a BNSF coal train was the tow’s pilot and captain “incorrectly identifying” a caution area on the vessel’s electronic chart system (ECS) before pushing the tow up against a riverbank too close to a railroad track, leading to a train derailment near Galland, Iowa.