DOT issues Final Rule on crude-by-rail train standards

Earlier today, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (FRA) issued its long-awaited Final Rulemaking for “Enhanced Tank Car Standards and Operational Controls for High-Hazard Flammable Trains.”

According to the DOT agencies, this rule applied to High-hazard flammable trains,” or a continuous block of 20 or more tank cars loaded with a flammable liquid or 35 or more tank cars loaded with a flammable liquid dispersed through a train.

The concerns said that these actions will address various issues related to these recent accidents, of which there have been 23 that are crude-related going back to 2013, with the majority occurring without the release of any cruel product.

What’s more, these actions come at a time when crude-by-rail volume on trains continues to increase materially, especially in recent years. As previously reported, crude oil being transported out of the Bakken formation, which resides mainly in North Dakota and extends into Montana, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, produces more than ten percent of total U.S. oil production, according to the United States Energy Information Administration.

Some of the Final Rule’s highlights include:
-requiring any high-hazard flammable unit train (HHFUT) transporting at least one PG I flammable liquid be operated with an ECP (electronically controlled pneumatic)
braking system by January 1, 2021;
-requiring all other HHFUT’s be operated with an ECP braking system by May 1, 2023;
-new tank cars constructed after October 1, 2015 are required to meet DOT Specification 117 design or performance criteria for use in an HHFT;
-restrict all HTTF’s to 50-mph in all areas;
-require HTTF’s that contain any tank cars not meeting the enhanced tank car standards required by this rule operate at a 40-mph speed restriction in high-threat urban areas defined by Transportation Security Administration regulations; and
-document sampling and testing program for all unrefined petroleum-based products such as crude oil, among others

“Safety has been our top priority at every step in the process for finalizing this rule, which is a significant improvement over the current regulations and requirements and will make transporting flammable liquids safer,” said Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

Feedback from House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) was also positive, with the dup saying that the DOT has finally set a stronger Federal standard for transporting crude oil by rail. 

“The new tank car requirements are a sensible approach to address shortcomings in older car designs and will lead to substantial safety benefits,” they stated. “While we fully support efforts to strengthen crude oil tank cars and set thoughtful operational requirements, we have some concerns regarding the new rules and how certain requirements could create unintended consequences throughout the rail network.  We look forward to working with Secretary Foxx and other colleagues as we fully evaluate these new policies – especially the effects of certain requirements on the movement of agriculture commodities, intermodal shipments, automobiles, raw materials and passenger rail service across the country.”

But from an industry perspective, positive feedback was not apparent.

“First and foremost, the DOT has no substantial evidence to support a safety justification for mandating ECP brakes, which will not prevent accidents,” said Edward R. Hamberger, Association of American Railroads president and CEO. “The DOT couldn’t make a safety case for ECP but forged ahead anyhow. This is an imprudent decision made without supporting data or analysis. I have a hard time believing the determination to impose ECP brakes is anything but a rash rush to judgment. DOT has handed down an unprecedented railroad operating requirement that is 100 percent dependent on the actions of rail customers or tank cars owners. This decision not only threatens the operational management of the U.S. rail system, but trains moving 30 mph will compromise network capacity by at least 30 percent.”

He added that the far-reaching effects of this decision will be felt by freight and passenger customers alike in that slow-moving trains will back up the entire rail system.

“Attention and resources should be allocated to addressing the underlying causes of rail accidents and brakes simply aren’t on that list,” he said. “Unjustified regulations such as this trigger a reallocation of investments that will not generate the kind of safety benefits the industry and the public expects. The regulation does not take into account the disruption the ECP mandate will wreak on railroad – both freight and passenger – operations.”