AP: FRA finds thousands of safety defects on crude routes

Federal Railroad Administration inspectors have discovered nearly 24,000 defects, including worn rails, broken or loose bolts, and cracked steel bars on rail lines used to transport crude oil, according to a report from the Associated Press.    Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) inspectors have discovered nearly 24,000 defects on roughly 58,000 miles of rail routes used to transport crude oil in 44 states, according to a report from the Associated Press.
   The findings are part of a targeted inspection program that began in January 2015, following several high-profile crude-by-rail accidents in the United States and Canada. Defects found included worn rails, broken or loose bolts, and cracked steel bars, any of which could cause a derailment under certain circumstances.
   Although these types of defects are not uncommon, Steven Ditmeyer, former director of the FRA’s Office of Research and Development, told AP the findings reinforce the need for railroads to stay on top of regular maintenance.
   “All of this is a call for continued vigilance,” Ditmeyer said of the inspection data. “One defect or one violation of the right kind can cause a derailment.”
   Crude oil train derailments have been front of mind for regulators, environmental groups, and residents of areas through which these trains pass as volumes from the Bakken formation have increased over the past several years. Bakken crude is particularly dangerous in the event of a derailment, as it is more flammable and volatile than traditional oil.
   These trains have been involved in several destructive derailments in recent years, the largest of which claimed the lives of 47 people in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec in July 2013.
   For example, the FRA last June issued a preliminary factual findings report on the derailment of a Union Pacific Corp. (UP) train carrying crude oil near Mosier, Ore., in which it found the railroad to be at fault in the incident.
   Union Pacific’s failure to maintain its track and equipment resulted in broken and sheared lag bolts, which led to tie plates loosening from ties, according to the FRA report. The loosened tie plates allowed the rails to be pushed outwards as trains moved across them, causing the gauge to widen, which in turn, caused the derailment.
   Sixteen of the trains 94 tank cars, all of which were loaded with crude oil from the Bakken formation, went off the tracks en route from New Town, N.D. to Tacoma, Wash., puncturing one car and spilling its contents. The leaking crude oil came into contact with an ignition source, which sparked the fire that eventually spread to four other cars and burned for 14 hours.
   The latest inspections resulted in 1,118 violation recommendations, according to AP, although federal regulators declined to comment on how many penalties would actually be issued as a result of the findings.
   Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific received the highest number of violation recommendations at more than 800, but figures for the remaining Class I freight railroads were not made available.
   “Railroads are paying closer attention,” FRA spokesman Marc Willis told AP, adding that derailments have fallen 10 percent since the inspection program began. “Although many minor defects still are being identified… both FRA and railroad inspectors are finding fewer serious conditions, resulting in significant safety improvements.”