Runaway Quebec Train's Owner Battled Safety Issues

Last edited Thu Jul 11, 2013, 04:23 PM - Edit history (3)

Runaway Quebec Train's Owner Battled Safety Issues
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324507404578593860896712862.html

BUSINESS Updated July 9, 2013, 10:27 a.m. ET

By ALISTAIR MACDONALD, TOM FOWLER and JESSE NEWMAN

The operator of the runaway train that derailed and exploded in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, this weekend recorded an accident rate far higher than the U.S. average over the past 10 years, federal data show. ... A train operated by Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway Inc., a subsidiary of U.S. train operator Rail World Inc., is at the center of a Canadian probe after the train was left unmanned at a crew rest stop and slammed into the small town early Saturday, triggering a deadly explosion and fire.
....

In the U.S., MM&A had 23 accidents, injuries or other reportable mishaps from 2010 to 2012 and at least two this year, including the derailment and explosion Saturday morning, according to Federal Railroad Administration data. That number is a small fraction of the 10,000 or more incidents that the nation's more than 800 railroads recorded each year during that stretch.

But measured by accidents and incidents per million miles traveled, MM&A has a much higher rate than the national average, federal data show. In 2012, for example, the company's rate was 36.1 occurrences per million miles, while the national average was 14.6. Between 2003 and 2011, the company's rate ranged between 23.4 and 56 incidents per million miles, while the national average ranged between 15.9 and 19.3.

Comparing safety data among railroads can be difficult because of the varying size of the railroads, as they operate in different settings and conditions. Also many of the incidents aren't the fault of train operators but are caused by contractors or errors on the part of the general public.

Here's a good discussion of how train brakes can release if not handled by the book. I know the OP. He has not studied the accident at Lac-Mégantic, but he is up to snuff technically.

ABDW Control Valves & inadvertant release
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,3122382

Date: 07/08/13 19:14
ABDW Control Valves & inadvertant release
Author: wcamp1472

Subject to comments and clarifications..

The current ADBW/X brake control valves use a 'quick-recharge' brake release-aid in normal train service.
During normal over-the-road service brake applications, when a service-release 'signal' (i.e.: an increase the brake pipe pressure) is sensed by the nearby cars, the service valve portion releases the local brake cylinder's piston AND directs(unused) Emergency Reservoir-air BACK to the brake pipe of the train and the following cars.
This causes a local pressure increase in the brake pipe which propagates the "release" to the following cars --which dutifully add their "Emergency Reservoir" volumes to the brake pipe.

This action promotes quick (relatively) release throughout the (rolling) train and SAVES MR air at the locomotives.

With 'parked' cars, and a 'service reduction' set to apply the brakes, the cars will remain with the shoes in contact with the wheels (for a short time).
As air gradually leaks off, a single control valve might see the 'release' as an intentional act -- thus 'releasing' its own brakes as well as replenishing the local brake-pipe pressure -- setting the stage for a run-away.

The practice of holding the cars with a service application and then closing the angle cocks is commonly referred to as: "Bottling the air". A VERY RISKY THING TO DO!
In fact, many modern operating Rule Books attempt to forbid the practice because of it's inherent propensity to cause inadvertent brake releases -- and on grades that's a common formula for disaster.

Keeping things technical:

Canadian train disaster sharpens debate on oil transportation
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/2013/07/08/82e8e968-e807-11e2-aa9f-c03a72e2d342_story.html

By Steven Mufson

The railroad put the small lakeside town of Lac-Mégantic on the map. And over the weekend, the railroad wiped part of the town off the map.
....

U.S. railroads are already carrying more than 1 million barrels of crude oil a day, bolstered by new shale-oil boom regions such as North Dakota and Texas. Proponents of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline may now be bolstered by arguing that pipelines are safer and more fuel-efficient than trains.
....

Over the past two years, the increase in crude oil shipped by rail in the United States has bolstered the fortunes of railroads, many of which have seen coal shipments drop substantially. Canada’s railroads are experiencing the same boom now. The Canadian Railway Association estimates that companies will ship as many as 140,000 tanker cars of crude oil on Canada’s tracks this year — up from 500 carloads in 2009. The Quebec disaster is the fourth freight train accident in Canada this year involving crude oil shipments, the Associated Press reported.
....

At least a handful of the tanker cars that crashed at 1:15 a.m. Saturday were older models known as DOT 111s in the United States. These models, which make up about two-thirds of the U.S. tanker car fleet, have been criticized by the National Transportation Safety Board in earlier incidents as “subject to damage and catastrophic loss of hazardous materials during the derailment.”

DOT-111? What's that?

DOT-111 tank car
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOT-111

Railroad Accident Report - Derailment of CN Freight Train U70691-18 With Subsequent Hazardous Materials Release and Fire
http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/summary/RAR1201.html

Quebec oil train derailment puts tank car in spotlight; DOT-111 is workhorse of the rails
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/quebec-oil-train-derailment-puts-tank-car-in-spotlight-dot-111-is-workhorse-of-the-rails/2013/07/09/617cce7e-e8d0-11e2-818e-aa29e855f3ab_story.html

By Associated Press,

The deadly derailment and explosion of an oil train in Quebec involved DOT-111 type tanker cars, which have come under scrutiny from transportation safety experts concerned with what they say is their tendency to split open during derailments and other major accidents.

A RAIL WORKHORSE

DOT-111 tank cars are the workhorse of the rail freight industry, hauling all sorts of chemicals and hazardous materials such as crude oil an ethanol, the highly flammable corn-based fuel. A 1991 safety study revealed design weaknesses that accident investigators say almost guarantee the tankers will split open in major derailments. In some accidents, those breaches have spilled hazardous cargo that caught fire, exploded in spectacular blasts or contaminated the environment.
___

DANGEROUS DESIGN FLAWS

The National Transportation Safety Board has noted several worrisome problems with the type of car: Its steel shell is too thin to resist puncture in accidents. The ends are especially vulnerable to tears from couplers that can fly up after ripping off between cars. And unloading valves and other exposed fittings on the tops of tankers can break during rollovers, the NTSB says.
___

NEWER GENERATION OF CARS

The rail and chemical industries and tanker manufacturers have voluntarily committed to safety changes for cars built after October 2011 to transport ethanol and crude oil. The improvements include thicker tank shells and shields on the ends of tanks to prevent punctures. But the industry is appealing to regulators to reject NTSB recommendations that the 30,000 to 45,000 existing ethanol tankers built under the older specifications be modified or phased out. Such a requirement would have spiraling costs and present enormous engineering challenges, the industry says. Regulators have yet to decide.

Important Reads:

Train Air Brake Description and History
http://www.sdrm.org/faqs/brakes/history/

Leaving a train or equipment unattended
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?15,3121849