Wisconsin lawmakers urge enhanced oil tank car safety

“Oil train accidents are increasing at an alarming rate,” Sen. Baldwin and Rep. Kind told the White House.

   Two lawmakers from Wisconsin – Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Rep. Ron Kind – urged the Obama administration to hasten efforts to improve the safety of oil being transported across the nation’s railways.
   “Oil train accidents are increasing at an alarming rate as a result of the increased oil production from the Bakken formation in North Dakota,” the lawmakers wrote in their March 9 letter to the White House. 
   Derailments involving oil have become a frequent occurrence as the number of these trains have increased. The most recent derailment was experienced in Illinois on March 5. Several weeks ago, a derailment of oil cars resulted in a multi-day fire in West Virginia.
   “The danger facing Wisconsin communities located near rail lanes has materialized quickly,” said Baldwin and Kind. “Just a few years ago, an oil train in the state was a rare sight. Today, more than 40 oil trains a week pass through Wisconsin cities and towns, many more than 100 tank cars long.”
   The lawmakers pointed to aging and inadequate rail infrastructure as the primary culprit for the oil train derailments.
   They asked President Obama to step up Federal Railroad Administration inspections of oil train routes, determine the causes of all recent oil train accidents, and provide recommendations to improve safety of oil transport by rail. The use of new railcar equipment for oil shipments has not solved the lingering dangers of this transport, the lawmakers said.
   Baldwin and Kind also recommended the administration consider improving its rules for oil transport by requiring that all crude oil shipments be fully stabilized before they’re shipped to reduce their flammability, hasten the phase-out of antiquated tank cars, crack down on operators with insufficient train braking technology and tank car durability, and increase communications with local communities about railed oil shipments so they can adequately respond in cases of derailments.
   The lawmakers also sent copies of their letter to the chief executives at the BNSF, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, Canadian National, and Canadian Pacific railroads.