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In Our View: Beyond The Tracks

The Columbian
Published: December 16, 2015, 6:01am

Despite much discussion about train safety and railroad regulations and the risks that come with hauling dangerous payloads, two recent incidents serve as reminders that such safety concerns must extend beyond the tracks.

Sunday morning, 41-year-old Andrew John Lambert of Vancouver was killed when the tanker truck he was driving left the roadway, traveled down an embankment, flipped, hit a power pole and collided with train tanker cars that were parked on nearby tracks. The tanker of the truck ignited, causing a fire that burned for more than an hour and released plumes of heavy black smoke that could be seen for miles. Highway 30 in industrial Northwest Portland was closed for several hours.

The accident was tragic, and condolences go to Lambert’s family and friends.

Monday morning, another train-vehicle incident, fortunately, had less catastrophic consequences. A train with four locomotives and 112 cars carrying grain collided with a vehicle that had become high-centered on tracks in Vancouver, just west of Interstate 205. The driver and passenger managed to escape before the vehicle was struck, and Gus Melonas, spokesman for BNSF Railway, said: “It was just a matter of seconds that the situation could have been avoided. It was just unfortunate timing.”

Investigations into both crashes are continuing, and learning more about the causes could be helpful in enhancing rail safety — an issue that is growing in importance. Freight traffic has expanded in recent years, driven in part by a recovering economy and in part by an exponential increase in the transport of crude oil by rail.

Locally, the discussion has focused on oil trains, as state regulators and Gov. Jay Inslee are considering approval of an agreement by the Port of Vancouver to build an oil terminal in conjunction with Tesoro Corp. and Savage Cos. The oil terminal would greatly increase the number of unit trains traveling through Vancouver, but rail traffic is expected to increase with or without the facility. Such an increase through a heavily populated area calls for the utmost in diligence and safety measures involving railroads.

The railroad industry has a strong safety record, but the nature of the business means that just one mistake can be catastrophic; in 2013, an oil train disaster in Lac Megantic, Quebec, killed 47 people.

Last year, Inslee signed a law relating to oil train safety, including a provision that requires railroads to demonstrate they can pay to clean up spills.

The obvious math is the more oil cars you put on the tracks, the more likely a catastrophe. But the need for diligence extends beyond oil trains. The fact that rail cars became a focal point of the accident in Northwest Portland is a coincidence; the trains just happened to be where the truck came to rest. Fortunately, the tank cars that contained tar or asphalt remained intact, but the next time might not be so fortuitous. As the transport of dangerous cargo increases, so does the risk to the community.

The vehicle/train crash in Vancouver points out the danger of having at-grade crossings in populated areas. Again, the railroad was not at fault, but the fact is that combining an increase in rail traffic with an increase in vehicle traffic only expands the inevitability of accidents. Grade crossings are problematic for traffic flow, and a long unit train can also delay emergency vehicles from reaching their destination.

The growth of the railroad industry means a growth of commerce, which is beneficial for all. But it also calls for forward-thinking safety measures.

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