Monday, January 27, 2014
The DOT-111-A, bad from the beginning
But only now, because it is traveling in larger herds, is its failings getting any attention. And even that will have to grind through the usual bureaucratic and lobbyist obstruction.
Federal regulators might be weeks away from issuing new safety guidelines for tank cars carrying flammable liquids, after a series of frightening rail accidents over the past six months.Even with existing standards and features, upgrading or replacing 78,000 railcars is a long term project. Until then, keep your fingers crossed when you hear that train whistle blowing.
But the type of general-service tank car involved in recent incidents with crude oil trains in Quebec, Alabama and North Dakota – the DOT-111-A – has a poor safety record with hazardous cargoes that goes back decades, raising questions about why it took so long for the railroad industry and its federal regulators to address a problem they knew how to fix.
Other, more specialized types of tank cars received safety upgrades in the 1980s, and the industry’s own research shows they were effective at reducing the severity of accidents.
Tank car manufacturers have built new DOT-111A cars to a higher standard since 2011, but the improvements haven’t caught up to tens of thousands of older cars...
About 92,000 DOT-111s are in use; 78,000 lack extra safety features. Most tank cars are leased by oil companies or other firms moving products by rail; safety standards difficult to update.
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