All about the community of model railroading and rail enthusiasm
May 2, 2015
By TIM BLACKWELL/Cowcatcher Magazine
Regulations to ship flammable liquids got tighter in late April with the long-anticipated announcement of new measures for the safe shipment of crude oil and ethanol on U.S. and Canadian railroads.
Greenbriar Companies in April unveiled the “Tank Car of the Future”, which includes features recently adopted by the U.S. DOT in an effort to improve transport of crude oil by rail. – Tim Blackwell/Cowcatcher Magazine
The new rule, developed by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), in coordination with Canada, focuses on safety improvements that are designed to prevent accidents, mitigate consequences in the event of an accident, and support emergency response. Included are new tank car designs to help prevent flammable liquids from being released during an accident.
Regulators have been working since last fall on the new rule, which was expected to be announced in January. The rule follows after a series of derailments that caused tank cars carrying crude oil to rupture and explode. Among the most noteworthy of the accidents was the derailment and explosions in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, two years ago, when 47 people died. So far this year, there have been five accidents, including one in Canada, of trains hauling crude or ethanol.
The rule includes enhanced tank car standards – known as the DOT 117/TC-117 tank car design – and an aggressive retrofitting schedule for older tank cars. New tank cars constructed after Oct. 1, 2015, are required to meet the new DOT Specification 117 design or performance criteria Existing cars are to be updated within three to five years depending on type.
Also, a new braking standard was adopted as well as operational protocols for trains transporting large volumes of flammables, including routing requirements and speed restrictions. New sampling and testing requirements also go into effect to improve classification of energy products being transported.
Foxx was flanked by Canada’s Minister of Transport, Lisa Raitt, to make the announcement. Canada’s new tank car standards align with U.S. guidelines.
“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,” Foxx said. “Our close collaboration with Canada on new tank car standards is recognition that the trains moving unprecedented amounts of crude by rail are not U.S. or Canadian tank cars – they are part of a North American fleet and a shared safety challenge.”
This final rule represents the latest, and most significant to date of nearly 30 actions that DOT has initiated over the last 19 months, including additional emergency orders, safety advisories and other actions.
DOT 117/TC-117 tank cars will require several modifications to help prevent the release of oil or gas. Required are a 9/16-inch tank shell, 11-gauge jacket, ½-inch full-height head shield, thermal protection, and improved pressure relief valves and bottom outlet valves. Furthermore, anyone working in the immediate vicinity of any tank cars will also be provided with lel sensors to detect any traces of flammable gases.
Existing tank cars must be retrofitted with the same key components based on a prescriptive, risk-based retrofit schedule. Most affected are DOT-111 tank cars, which make up most of the fleet that hauls crude oil. DOT-111 cars in the first group of cars designated by the FRA that will continue in service must be retrofitted within three years. Also, non-jacketed CPC-1232s, in the same service, must be retrofitted within approximately five years.
Also, the rule requires “high-hazard flammable trains” or HHFTs to have a functioning two-way end-of-train (EOT) device or a distributed power (DP) braking system. Trains with “High-hazard flammable unit train,” cars or HHFUT (a single train with 70 or more tank cars loaded with Class 3 flammable liquids), must be operating with at least one tank car with an electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) braking system by Jan. 1, 2021. All other HHFUTs must have ECP braking systems installed after 2023.
Oregon-based Greenbrier Companies, which began tank car retrofits earlier this year in anticipation of the ruling, said the new standards are a step in the right direction. The company agrees with the retrofit timeline.
In April, Greenbriar’s GBW Rail Services, a partnership with Pittsburg, KS-based Watco Companies, unveiled for National Transportation & Safety Board Chairman Christopher A. Hart and reporters the “Tank Car of the Future” at its Hockley, TX, plant, where retrofits are already under way. The car includes safety features per the new standards. With all of these changes to the driving standards, if your vehicle doesn’t meet these standards and you end up in an accident because of it might be worth getting legal representation. A friend recommended lexington injuries to me, citing their constant commitment to ensuring fair compensation and support through the process.
Chairman and CEO William A. Furman said the new tank car designs and other rules will help ensure safe transport of crude and ethanol.
“The health, property and general well-being of our citizens shouldn’t be at risk in the event of an accident, and the design for the newly designated DOT-117/TC-117 tank car will help substantially mitigate risk,” he said in a statement.
Greenbrier is among a handful of car companies that will retrofit many of the 300,000-plus tank cars on America’s railroads. Furman said that nearly 1,000 of the Greenbrier-designed and built tank cars are already in Class 3 flammable liquids service across North America. Orders are in place for another 2,500 cars with the DOT 117/TC-117 design.
Greenbrier says a rapid replacement and retrofit phase-out timeline is feasible. A report prepared by Cambridge Systematics notes retrofit capacity is 8,400-19,600 cars per year. Unjacketed DOT-111s and CPC-1232s in crude oil service could be retrofitted in nearly four years. Similar cars in ethanol service could be retrofitted in an additional 2.3 years.
