NTSB hears concerns on derailments of oil trains

Brian Tumulty, TJN

WASHINGTON Federal regulators should use their emergency powers to make moving crude oil and ethanol by rail safer in the foreseeable future, the chairman of the National Transportation Board said Wednesday.

"They don't need a higher body count in order for the regulators to move forward," Deborah Hersman said of Transportation Department officials. She made her comments at the conclusion of a two-day forum on safety issues involving rail transportation of crude oil and ethanol.

The use of so-called unit trains carrying up to 100 tanker cars of crude oil or ethanol is a relatively new phenomenon that risks catastrophic events such as the July 2013 accident in Quebec that caused 47 deaths and the evacuation of more than 2,000 people.

The engineer on that crude oil train failed to properly secure it on an incline when it was parked overnight. The train rolled into the community of in Lac-Megantic, derailing at a speed of 64 mph.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/2014/04/23/crude-oil-derailments-fire-concerns/8054931/