Crude oil train derails, causes large fire in West Virginia

Accident may be another spur to hurry federal regulations for more robust tank cars.    A huge fire in West Carbon, W.Va., caused by the wreck of a train carrying crude oil from the Bakken formation will once again draw attention to safety issues around the transport of oil by rail.
   Sarah Feinberg, acting administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and the agency’s chief safety officer, Robert Lauby, will travel to West Virginia to survey the site of the derailment and fire.
   FRA said its investigators from the Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) are already on the scene and an investigation into the cause of the derailment will begin when the area is secure.
   CSX said the train consisted of two locomotives and 109 railcars and was traveling from North Dakota to Yorktown, Va. All of the oil cars were  CPC 1232 models.
   An article on the website Roll Call said the accident “seems likely to increase pressure on the Obama administration to speed the release of a regulation to require more robust oil tank cars.” It also noted Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on Friday said a pending tank car standard from PHMSA “needs to come out as quickly as possible,” but there is “a very rigorous process that rules have to go through.”
   Following the accident, CSX said one person was being treated for possible respiratory problems, but no other injuries were reported. The cause of the derailment is under investigation.
   An Associated Press account of the accident said Jennifer Sayre, the Kanawha County manager, estimated 14 to 17 tankers caught fire or exploded.
   A witness told the AP that he felt the heat from one of the explosions at his home, a half mile from the derailment. A fireball rose 300 feet.
   Accounts said two water treatment plants near the accident were shut down, one later reopened. About 85 displaced residents went to shelters set up by CSX and American Red Cross.
   The West Carbon accident comes just days after 15 cars on a Canadian National train carrying crude oil were breached and released oil after a train derailment near Gogama, Ontario. A CN spokesperson reported 29 cars carrying crude oil from Alberta jumped the tracks late Saturday. Seven of the cars caught fire at the site, about 80 kilometers south of Timmins. Fires are still burning but are said to be under control, the CBC reported.
   Last April, a CSX train carrying Bakken crude to Yorktown derailed in Lynchburg, Va.