Alberta Canada, Derailment

Latest derailment: CN train derails east of Whitecourt, Alberta

Repost from WhitecourtStar.com

CN train derails east of Whitecourt

By Bryan Passifiume, QMI Agency, Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Nobody was injured after eight cars of an eastbound freight train derailed east of Whitecourt, Alberta. Four of the cars tipped over, spilling their loads of gravel on the ground. CN Spokesperson Emily Hamer confirmed that no hazardous materials were involved. Chance Hansen photo | Submitted
Nobody was injured after eight cars of an eastbound freight train derailed east of Whitecourt, Alberta. Four of the cars tipped over, spilling their loads of gravel on the ground. CN Spokesperson Emily Hamer confirmed that no hazardous materials were involved. Chance Hansen photo

Nobody was injured after a CN train derailed east of Whitecourt, Alta.

According to CN spokesperson Emily Hamer, the eastbound freight train ran into trouble just after 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9 near Cherhill, Alta., about 100 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

Eight cars filled with gravel left the tracks in the incident. Four of the cars tipped over, emptying their loads on the ground around the tracks.

None of the cars involved in the derailment contained dangerous goods.

This is the second derailment this month on CN tracks in Alberta. On Sept. 3, 15 cars filled with grain left the tracks near Hondo, northwest of Edmonton. In July, five cars along the same stretch of track carrying crude oil toppled over east of Whitecourt. Nobody was injured in either of those incidents.

The CN Sangudo subdivision, a 240 kilometre railway line stretching from Edmonton to Fox Creek, sees several trails daily hauling crude oil, hydrochloric acid, sand, gravel and sulphur.

No indication was given on when the line would re-open.

Bakken Crude, DOT-111, Federal Regulation (U.S.), Lac-Mégantic, U.S. Department of Transportation

DOT strengthens rules on unattended freight trains

Repost from UPI Business News

Tighter rules for U.S. crude oil trains

Measure part of a series of steps in response to Lac-Megantic disaster.
By Daniel J. Graeber   |   Sept. 9, 2014
Department of Transportation proposes new measures to ensure safety of trains carrying hazardous materials like crude oil (Photo: Daniel J. Graeber)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Transportation said Tuesday it adopted new measures aimed at securing unattended freight trains in response to oil train accidents.

The Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration issued a new proposal aimed at strengthening rules on unattended freight trains. The rules are part of a series of federal procedures outlined in the wake of the deadly 2013 derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.

“This rulemaking will solidify our existing securement regulations and provide additional safeguards against the rolling of unattended freight trains, especially those carrying hazardous materials,” Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo said in a statement.

At least 40 people were killed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in the derailment of a train carrying tankers of crude oil from North Dakota to Canadian refineries. Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway blamed the air brakes on the locomotive for the accident.

Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt announced new regulations in April aimed at increasing safety on the Canadian rail system. The measure from regulator Transport Canada started with an order to remove around 5,000 tanker cars designated DOT-111 from service almost immediately.

A 200-page proposal from the Department of Transportation calls for the elimination of older rail cars designated DOT 111 for shipment of flammable liquid, “including most Bakken crude oil.”

The new proposal would prevent trains carrying certain specified hazardous materials from being left unattended.

“Safety is our top priority,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. “Today’s action is only the latest in more than two dozen steps we have taken in the last year to further safeguard communities along train routes that carry crude oil and other flammable liquids.”

Crude By Rail, Federal Regulation (U.S.), Funding for emergency response, Local Regulation

Chicago City Council approves resolution targeting crude oil train shipments

Repost from The Chicago Tribune

Chicago City Council approves resolution targeting crude oil train shipments

By Richard Wronski, September 9, 2014
Moving oil by train
Empty railroad tank cars snake their way into a storage yard. (Curtis Tate / MCT)

A joint Chicago City Council committee approved a resolution today calling on the federal government to impose more stringent restrictions on the shipments of crude oil by train than were proposed in July by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

The action would put Chicago in the forefront of communities across the nation demanding tighter controls on the shipment of flammable liquids, especially crude oil trains, which are the equivalent of rolling pipelines.

In the most significant request, Chicago wants the federal government to give local municipalities the authority to impose a hazardous material transportation fee on shippers. The fee, which was not specified, would be used by the city to plan and respond to emergencies involving these shipments.

The measure, approved at a joint meeting of the finance and transportation committees, will go before the full city council Wednesday but approval was expected.

“The proceeds of such a fee would help insure that our firefighters and police officers who would answer the call for help have the necessary equipment and proper training to respond to a catastrophic railroad accident,” said Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, chairman of the finance committee and one of the resolution sponsors.

“Hopefully, our leaders in Washington will act promptly to protect millions of people in the Chicago area before, not after, a disaster strikes.”

The city’s action comes in response to the July 2013 runaway train carrying crude oil that derailed in Lac Megantic, Quebec, killing 47 people and destroying more than 100 homes and businesses.

The city is also calling for the federal restrictions to be imposed on trains carrying as few as 15 tank cars containing flammable liquids. The proposed federal rule on so-called “high-hazard flammable trains” would affect trains that carry 20 or more tank cars of flammable liquids, including crude oil and ethanol.

As many as 40 such trains come through Chicago and suburbs each week, the Tribune has reported.

Bakken Crude, Crude By Rail, Emergency Readiness & Response, Federal Regulation (U.S.), Hazmat notification, Local Regulation, Regional regulation

Author of the 9/11 Rail provisions: Rail security requires local oversight of Bakken trains

Repost from Government Security News

Rail security requires local oversight of Bakken crude shipments

By Denise Rucker Krepp, 2014-09-09

The District of Columbia Council uncovered a serious homeland security flaw this week that should raise red flags for mayors and town managers around the country. In the nation’s capitol, local transportation officials aren’t conducting oversight over CSX and the goods it transports through the city. Similarly, officials are unfamiliar with the rail carrier’s security policies. DC transportation officials, as traditionally classified by the federal government, aren’t rail stakeholders with a need to know this information.

Rail stakeholders, as defined by the Transportation Security Administration, are class 1 freight railroads (CSX, Norfolk Southern), Amtrak, and regional and short line railroads. Members of these companies advise TSA on rail security matters and TSA provides them with security information. This relationship is further solidified in TSA’s strategic plan. The exclusive club does not include first responders nor local representatives from the communities through which the rail carriers transport goods.

By not including cities and towns as part of their stakeholder group, TSA has weakened the nation’s rail security system. Mayors and town managers control the first responder assets that will be used when the next Lac Megantic or Lynchburg occurs. TSA, however, as DC transportation officials told the DC Council this week, doesn’t require local officials to review rail security plans covering their jurisdiction. Absent a comprehensive review, they won’t know if their assets are sufficient to respond to a significant accident.

TSA’s definition of rail stakeholder was upended this summer when Secretary of Transportation Foxx mandated that rail carriers share information regarding Bakken crude with local officials.  For the first time, a federal department broadened the definition to include first responders and emergency managers. The Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act included information sharing requirements but TSA never followed through with them.

The lack of knowledge is problematic because local officials approve rail permits for projects like the proposed Virginia Avenue Tunnel project in DC. These officials however, have not include homeland security threat information in their permit analysis. They couldn’t. Local officials didn’t have this information before Secretary Foxx’s order. Thankfully, his order will increase the flow of information to local officials and will enable them to finally complete a more thorough analysis before making critical permitting decisions.

It’s my hope that Secretary Foxx’s order will be formalized by the Department of Homeland Security. DHS indicated in its Spring 2014 unified regulatory agenda, that TSA will be drafting regulations concerning rail security plans and other measures outlined in the 9/11 Act. These regulations will firmly establish the federal government’s expectations and one of these should be the inclusion of state and local officials in the decision making process.

Denise Rucker Krepp is an attorney, transportation and energy consultant, former special counsel to DOT and the U.S. Congress, and author of the 9/11 Rail provisions.