Senator Wyden: No Unsafe Tracks

"I am not going to allow Oregonians to be tied to unsafe tracks."

That was the message from United States Senator Ron Wyden who visited Mosier on Sunday.

It was just over a week ago that 16 cars of a 96-car train taking oil from New Town, North Dakota to Tacoma, Washington derailed outside of Mosier.

Four of the cars burned sending smoke in the air that could be seen for miles.

While the was thrown into chaos for days: dozens were evacuated, dozens more were not allowed to flush or shower; it was generally acknowledged that it could have been much worse.

On Friday, elected officials from Mosiers and other cities along the route asked the federal government to step in and prevent trains from running until safety could be assured.

Wyden - who plans to introduce a bill that would place a fee on rail cars that would be used to help fund first responders - has spoken in support of working to improve rail safety.