I read three recent articles related to the safety of oil train transport.
Business Week had: “No More Fireballs.” The Department of Transportation issued its safety standards for tank cars and gave owners two or more years to upgrade tankers known as DOT-111s.
From the New York Times: “oil trains with as many as 120 cars have become common in cities like Philadelphia and Chicago (and, of course, Vancouver) as they make their way from the Bakken region of North Dakota.” Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said that “instead of providing more details about oil shipments, railroads will simply be required to give our firefighters a phone number” under the new bill that passed. The Crude-By-Rail Safety Act of 2015 bill by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., would require the railroads to stop transport of oil in these DOT-111s immediately.
And from the Wall Street Journal, “U.S. Railroads to challenge oil-train regulations”: Norfolk Southern CEO Charles Moorman said, “It (the new rule that requires cars to put a newer brake system on all cars) is very expensive, it does not work well,” and “the brake requirement would cost railroads billions of dollars when factoring in added infrastructure.”
How much will it cost in life and property destruction when a 120-car oil caravan derails here?
