Transportation officials issue oil train safety measures
Source: Associated Press, via the Vancouver WA Columbian
By JOAN LOWY, Associated Press
Published: April 17, 2015, 6:00 AM
Updated: April 17, 2015, 12:23 PM
WASHINGTON — An emergency order requiring trains hauling crude oil and other flammable liquids to slow down as they pass through urban areas and a series of other steps to improve the safety were announced Friday by the Department of Transportation.
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Major freight railroads have already limited oil trains to no more 40 mph in “high threat” urban areas under a voluntary agreement reached last year with Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. But Friday’s order makes the speed limitation a requirement and extends it to trains carrying other flammable liquids like ethanol.
The voluntary agreement also applied only to trains that used older tank cars that are easily ruptured in crashes. The new order includes tank cars constructed since 2011 that were designed to replace the older cars, but which have also repeatedly ruptured in crashes, spilling their contents. So far this year there have been four oil train derailments resulting in huge fireballs — two in the U.S. and two in Canada. All involved the newer tank cars known as 1232 cars.
The department has also issued an advisory to railroads to strengthen its procedures for checking for flaws in train wheels that can cause a crash. A broken train wheel is suspected of causing the March 5 derailment near Galena, Illinois, of a train hauling 103 cars of Bakken crude. ... The department also wants inspectors with the highest qualifications to conduct brake and mechanical inspections before trains carrying oil and other hazardous liquids depart. Railroads were also asked to put a system in place to quickly provide investigators with key information on trains and their contents in the event of an accident. Railroads were also notified that the department is working on regulations requiring them to provide more detailed information on the trains and their contents than currently required, including any testing and analysis of the crude oil before the tank cars were filled.
Read more: http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/apr/17/transportation-oil-train-safety-measures/#
Full disclosure: I own shares of stock in rail companies.
Please see the oil train safety link farm I maintain over in the Economy Forum. Although I have a financial stake in railroads (but not a big one), I try to act as a reporter and maintain neutrality about this issue.
I advocate the safe movement of oil.
Oil Train Safety. Links to News Articles, Industry Groups, Regulatory Agencies. Updated 04-17-2015
