Page 12 - Flathead Beacon // 4.8.15

12 | APRIL 8, 2015 NEWS FLATHEADBEACON.COM BNSF Implements New Rules for Oil Trains
In letter to shippers, railroad officials say, ‘we know this commodity can be moved safely’
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
In an effort to safely move massive oil trains from North Dakota’s Bak- ken oil fields, BNSF Railway has told its shippers that it is implementing its own rules to prevent explosive derailments and accidental spills.
In a letter to its customers on March 30, the railroad announced it would re- quire oil trains to travel at slower speeds through populated areas, increase track inspections along waterways and en- courage shippers to use safer and stron- ger tank cars. The announcement comes less than two months after a BNSF oil train derailed and exploded in Illinois. No one was injured in the accident.
“As we are all aware, recent incidents involving rail transportation of shale crude have continued to raise concerns among customers, railroads and the communities we serve on the ability of this particular commodity to be moved safely,” wrote Steve Bobb, executive vice
A BNSF oil train rolls through Whitefish in 2014. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
exceed 35 miles per hour. That would not apply to trains running through ru- ral areas, but BNSF spokesperson Matt Jones said that trains along Glacier Na- tional Park and through the Flathead Valley usually run anywhere from 25 to 45 miles per hour.
The railroad is also urging ship- pers to use stronger tank cars and will ban the use of DOT-111 and unmodified CPC-1232 cars within three years. The DOT-111 tank car was at the center of the deadly 2013 oil train wreck in Quebec that killed 47 people and leveled more than 30 buildings. Tougher CPC-1232 tank cars were introduced soon after but a series of oil train wrecks in Febru- ary and March of this year showed that the new tank cars were not as safe as the industry had believed.
In January, the railroad began charging oil shippers $1,000 every time they used an older tank car. In March, the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufactures filed a lawsuit against the railroad alleging that the new surcharge was unfair and illegal. The railroad has said the surcharge will encourage ship- pers to improve tank car safety. Most tank cars are owned by third-party leas- ing companies and not the railroads themselves.
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president and chief marketing officer, and Greg Fox, executive vice president and chief operations officer, in a joint letter published online. “We know this commodity can be moved safely. It re- quires the right tank cars and ongoing risk reduction.”
In the letter, Bobb and Fox said that
the railroad would increase the num- ber of track inspections along “critical waterways,” including the Flathead and Kooteani rivers and Whitefish Lake. Beginning March 25, the railroad also required engineers running oil trains through large municipal areas with populations over 100,000 people to not
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