Wrecks Hit Tougher Oil Railcars

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, Trainorders: CPC-1232s, oil tankers rupture in recent wrecks

Wrecks Hit Tougher Oil Railcars

Sturdier train cars built to carry crude oil have failed to prevent spills in recent derailments
By Russell Gold and Paul Vieira
[e-mail]
@russellgold
[e-mail]
@PaulVieira
March 8, 2015 9:36 p.m. ET

In a string of recent oil train derailments in the U.S. and Canada, new and sturdier railroad tanker cars being built to carry a rising tide of crude oil across the continent have failed to prevent ruptures.

These tank cars, called CPC-1232s, are the new workhorses of the soaring crude-by-rail industry, carrying hundreds of thousands of barrels a day across the two countries.

But the four recent accidents are a sign that the new tanker cars are still prone to rupture in a derailment. The ruptures could increase momentum for rules aimed at further reducing the risk of shipping crude by rail.

In the last month, there have been significant derailments of crude-carrying trains in West Virginia and Illinois, plus two in Ontario, including one Saturday in a remote part of the Canadian province. ... Each train was hauling the new tank cars, which weren’t able to prevent the crude from escaping, leaking into one river and exploding into several giant fireballs.
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Write to Russell Gold at [e-mail] and Paul Vieira at [e-mail]