DOT Announces Final Rule to Strengthen Safe Transportation of Flammable Liquids by Rail
Rule Will Make Significant and Extensive Changes to Improve Accident Prevention, Mitigation, and Emergency Response.
Bakken
On the Hill, talking about energy transportation safety
Safety was on my mind when, yesterday, I went up to Capitol Hill to speak before the Senate Commerce Committee. My testimony came one week to the very hour after a train carrying crude oil derailed near downtown Lynchburg, Virginia. The crash sent oil spilling into the James River, and ignited flames on the banks of that river, causing the evacuation of a 20-block area.
As I told committee members, we’re very fortunate no one was killed, let alone hurt.
I also told them about two steps we took earlier yesterday to make transporting oil by rail safer: a Safety Advisory, strongly urging those shipping or offering Bakken crude oil to use tank car designs with the highest level of integrity available in their fleets, and an Emergency Order requiring shippers and energy companies to identify the routes Bakken crude oil is traveling and to notify state emergency responders so they can work with communities along those routes to prepare local police and fire departments...
DOT’s Call to Action Results in Safety Changes for Transport of Crude Oil
As part of DOT’s comprehensive response to recent derailments of trains carrying crude oil, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx held a call-to-action meeting with the rail community last month to identify immediate steps that could be taken to improve safety. Today, little more than a month later, DOT and the nation's major freight railroads announced steps to help ensure that crude oil transported by rail moves safely from its origin to its destination.
Railroads have agreed to:
- Increased track inspections--beyond what is required by federal regulations--on routes with trains carrying 20 or more carloads of crude oil;
- Better braking technology allowing for faster stopping and a decreased likelihood of pileup;
- Traffic routing technology that uses the Rail Corridor Risk Management System to determine the safest and most secure routes for trains carrying 20 or more carloads of crude oil;
- Lower speeds through designated urban areas for trains carrying at least one older DOT-111 car; and
- Other steps including working with communities along crude oil rail transport routes, increased trackside safety technology, specialized training for local first responders, and emergency response capability planning.
Rail Safety is a National Priority
Energy production is booming in the United States. The volume of crude oil moving by rail has quadrupled in less than a decade, and most of that movement occurs safely and without incident. Over the past decade, train accidents have declined by 43 percent and accidents involving a hazardous materials release are down 16 percent.
But at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, we know there is always more we can do.
That is why today we are asking for public input on how to enhance the safe transportation of hazmat by rail, including changes to the DOT 111 tank car.
