On July 6, 2013 an unattended freight train carrying Bakken crude ran away and derailed, resulting in over 40 confirmed deaths, several others missing and presumably dead, and destroyed roughly half of downtown Lac-Megantic. It was the fourth deadliest rail accident in Canadian history.
According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), the number of carloads of crude carried jumped from 9,500 in 2008 to over 400,000 carloads in 2013. These figures along with the number of recent accidents involving crude shipments are raising safety concerns across the region.
New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, expresses his concerns about crude oil shipments in a letter to the Federal Transportation Secretary, "I am deeply troubled by the pattern of incidents involving the rail transportation of crude oil, from major accidents in 2013 to two minor derailments in New York this week. As you know, New York State is a key corridor for the transport of high volumes of crude oil from North Dakota and Canada, which is destined for refineries in the Mid-Atlantic and New Brunswick, Canada. I am not convinced that federal regulations and oversight sufficiently protect New York's communities and natural resources from safety hazards in transporting this material. Therefore, I request that you move swiftly to strengthen regulations on tank car safety, require reporting of derailments when crude oil is involved, and increase inspections along the network in which crude oil is shipped."
One month after the secretary of transportation, Anthony R. Foxx, met with railroad executives, the Federal regulators agreed on a rail operations safety initiative which will institute eight voluntary steps to reduce the risk of crude by rail shipments:
1)Increased track inspections – Effective March 25th, railroads will perform at least one additional internal-rail inspection each year above those required by new FRA regulations on main line routes over which trains moving 20 or more carloads of crude oil travel. Railroads will also conduct at least two high-tech track geometry inspections each year on main line routes over which trains with 20 or more loaded cars of crude oil are moving.
2)Braking Systems - Railroads will equip all trains with 20 or more carloads of crude oil with either distributed power or two-way telemetry end-of-train devices. This will allow train crews to apply emergency brakes from both ends of the train in order to stop the train faster
3)Use of Rail Traffic Routing Technology - By July 1, railroads will begin using the Rail Corridor Risk Management System (RCRMS) to aid in the determination of the safest and most secure rail routes for trains with 20 or more cars of crude oil.
4)Lower Speeds - Beginning July 1 trains with 20 or more tank cars carrying crude that include at least one older DOT-111 car will travel no faster than 40 mph in 46 federally designated high-threat urban areas.
5)Community Relations - Railroads will continue to work with communities through which crude oil trains move to address location-specific concerns that communities may have.
6)Increased Trackside Safety Technology – By July 1, railroads will begin installing additional wayside wheel bearing detectors if they are not already in place every 40 miles along tracks with trains carrying 20 or more crude oil cars, as other safety factors allow.
7)Increased Emergency Response Training and Tuition Assistance - Railroads have committed by July 1 to provide $5 million to develop specialized crude by rail training and tuition assistance program for local first responders.
8)Emergency Response Capability Planning – By July 1, Railroads will develop an inventory of emergency response resources for responding to the release of large amounts of crude oil along routes over which trains with 20 or more cars of crude oil operate.
"For our nation's railroads, pursuing safe operations is not an option, but an imperative," said AAR President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger. "Most importantly, safety is the right thing to do – not just for our business, but also for our employees and the communities we serve."
Reader Comments(0)