Yet while residents like Popple view the increase in traffic as worrisome, those within the frac sand industry are reveling in good times.

Rich Budinger, president of the Wisconsin Industrial Sand Association, argues that more rail means a better Wisconsin.

“Overall, the economy looks like it’s improving,” Budinger said in a phone interview as he described watching trains full of sand, oil and agricultural products go by in Menomonie, a Dunn County community.

Train accidents fluctuate

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, over the past 10 years, the annual number of highway-rail crashes in Wisconsin has varied widely, from a high of 84 in 2005 to a low of 33 in 2010.

Plale said the number of accidents tends to fluctuate each year, similar to those involving cars and trucks. At the same time, the number of train derailments in Wisconsin also has varied, ranging from 35 in 2008 to 15 last year, with steady decreases since 2011.

Wisconsin has seen some fatal rail accidents in recent years, a number that also has fluctuated from four in 2009 to 11 in 2011. So far in 2014, there have been five train-related deaths.