The Surge in Transporting Oil by Train is a Disaster, but a lot could be done

to mitigate potential accidents. It could be done easily by executive orders and regulations.

It's no secret that the amount of oil moved by train has gone up by phenomenal percentages over the last several years. It's no secret that potential Lac Megantic scale accidents are everywhere in the U.S. and Canada. The recipe for such accidents is simple: decaying rail infrastructure in populated areas; trains carrying oil and gas in unsafe tankers at unsafe speeds with a lack of sufficient crew aboard.

One thing that could be done now is to lower the speed of trains carrying flammable cargo.

As federal regulators wrestle over how to improve the safety of crude-oil shipments by rail, they could dust off a solution first proposed during in the Nixon administration: Slow the trains.

The Federal Railroad Administration proposed in October 1970 that trains carrying flammable cargo in tank cars slow to 25 mph through incorporated communities. The proposal was never adopted as a rule, but it could provide a partial answer to the safety problems that have plagued shipments of crude oil and ethanol in recent years.

After a meeting last month between regulators and railroad industry officials, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the speed of such trains would be considered as part of “comprehensive” approach to improving their safety.

After a series of derailments since last summer, federal officials have concluded that crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken Shale region poses special transportation risks because of its increased flammability. One such derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, killed 47 people in July. Subsequent accidents in Alabama, North Dakota and elsewhere have raised the stakes.:

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http://www.reporternews.com/news/2014/feb/02/no-headline---railsafetywa/

Canadian Oil Train Derails, Spills in Mississippi

A Canadian National Railway Co. train carrying fuel oil and other hazardous materials derailed and was leaking in southeast Mississippi on Friday, forcing the evacuation of nearby residents, officials said.

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http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2014/02/02/319141.htm

Accidents Surge as Oil Industry Takes the Train

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/business/energy-environment/accidents-surge-as-oil-industry-takes-the-train.html

Government wakes up to dangerous crude oil

Jan 31, 2014 — Governor Cuomo has issued an executive order calling on state agencies to review their preparedness for an oil spill or explosion from rail cars. The move comes amidst growing awareness that shipments of volatile crude oil from North Dakota are skyrocketing nationwide. David Sommerstein reports.

The domestic oil boom has meant more crude on the rails. And that’s led to more accidents. Massive explosions in North Dakota and Lac Megantic, Quebec are the highest profile examples. But according to an investigation by the Washington Post, more crude oil was spilled on U.S. railways last year than any other in nearly four decades

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http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/23924/20140131/government-wakes-up-to-dangerous-crude-oil-cars