WASHINGTON – On May 1, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced a final rule for transporting crude by rail. The rule focuses on safety improvements that are designed to prevent accidents, mitigate consequences in the event of an accident, and support emergency response.
The rule does the following: Unveils a new, enhanced tank car standard and an aggressive, risk-based retrofitting schedule for older tank cars carrying crude oil and ethanol; Requires a new braking standard for certain trains that will offer a superior level of safety by potentially reducing the severity of an accident, and the "pile-up effect"; Designates new operational protocols for trains transporting large volumes of flammable liquids, such as routing requirements, speed restrictions, and information for local government agencies; and provides new sampling and testing requirements to improve classification of energy products placed into transport.
Canada joins the US in developing a harmonized solution for safety. Secretary Anthony Foxx was joined by Canada's Minister of Transport, Lisa Raitt, to announce Canada's new tank car standards, which align with the U.S. standard.
"Safety has been our top priority at every step in the process for finalizing this rule, which is a significant improvement over the current regulations and requirements and will make transporting flammable liquids safer," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "Our close collaboration with Canada on new tank car standards is recognition that the trains moving unprecedented amounts of crude by rail are not U.S. or Canadian tank cars – they are part of a North American fleet and a shared safety challenge."
"This stronger, safer, more robust tank car will protect communities on both sides of our shared border," said Minister Raitt. "Through strong collaboration we have developed a harmonized solution for North America's tank car fleet. I am hopeful that this kind of cooperation will be a model for future Canada-U.S. partnership on transportation issues."
US DOT states that other federal agencies are also pursuing strategies to improve safety.
To view a summary of the Final Rule, log on to http://www.dot.gov/mission/safety/rail-rule-summary
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