NTSB to hold discussions on tank car safety

The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a roundtable discussion Wednesday, July 13 regarding the safety of transporting crude oil, ethanol and other flammable liquids by rail.    The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will hold a roundtable discussion on tank-car safety Wednesday, July 13 in Washington, DC.
   The NTSB has invited industry associations and representatives from railroads and railcar manufacturers to participate in the discussion surrounding the safety of transporting crude oil, ethanol and other flammable liquids by rail.
   The meetings will be moderated by NTSB member Robert Smmwalt and will focus on progress made toward new requirements stipulated in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015 for improved railroad operating practices, more effective emergency responses, and safer and stronger tank cars.
   Regulators and industry advocates have pushed to retrofit or replace older DOT-111 and CPC-1232 tank cars as they are thinner and more likely to puncture than the newer DOT 117 models. Trains carrying flammable liquid in those older tank cars are, as a result, at a higher risk of leaking and/or catching fire in the event of a derailment.
   “We hope to gain deeper understanding of the logistics of replacing the existing tank car fleet to transport flammable materials, as well as how government and industry can overcome factors that could impede timely implementation of the new tank car rules,” NTSB said in a statement publicizing the event.
   “We need to make the transportation of these flammable liquids safer,” added Sumwalt. “That includes making sure trains stay on the tracks and having rail tank cars that can keep their product contained in the event of a derailment or crash.”