Executives from both Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP) said that they anticipate a boost in crude-by-rail traffic come springtime, Trains Magazine reports.
Both CN Chief Financial Officer Ghislain Houle and CP Chief Marketing Officer John Brooks presented Nov. 13 at the Scotiabank Transportation & Industrials Conference in Toronto and said their railroads would be readying for increased oil traffic when the spring arrives and the country’s grain shipping rail traffic winds down, the magazine reported.
A lack of pipeline capacity is restricting the amount of oil that can flow, and crude-by-rail traffic has ramped up to a level approaching the country’s 2014 peak of a rate of 140,000 carloads annually, the magazine reported.
Data from the Association of American Railroads show that petroleum product shipments are up by more than 30 percent for both Canadian Class I carriers.
The full article is available on the Trains Magazine website (subscription required).
Tag: crude by rail
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is hiring a railroad engineering expert for three months to advise on ways to prevent oil-train accidents.
Allan M. Zarembski, a University of Delaware research professor and director of the university’s railroad engineering and safety program, will study oil-train risk factors and make recommendations to improve operations in Pennsylvania, said Jeff Sheridan, spokesman for Wolf.
Read the complete story at The Inquirer.
OLYMPIA, Wash. – State lawmakers gave final approval April 24 to a bill meant to increase oil train safety.
The bill was taken up in response to the uptick in oil train traffic in the region. It directs oil taxes to help pay for oil-train spill response. It also imposes public disclosure requirements for railroad companies operating in Washington.
Read the complete story at Radio Station KOUW.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer on Jan. 6 called for an overhaul of old rail tank cars used to carry crude oil after a spate of explosive derailments over the past year.
The New York Democrat joined a growing number of politicians concerned about the safety of transporting large volumes of oil by rail across the country, calling for a phase-out or retrofit of old tankers that do not meet current safety standards and are prone to puncture.
Read the complete story at the Chicago Tribune.
Rail-safety advocates and members of Congress are calling for stricter tank-car safety standards in the wake of a major oil-by-rail accident this week, an appeal that took on new urgency Thursday with the release of a federal advisory that oil from North Dakota’s Bakken formation may be more flammable than other types of crude.
A train carrying crude oil from the Bakken ran off the rails near Casselton, N.D., on Monday, leading to a voluntary evacuation of nearby residents. The accident occurred when freight cars carrying crude oil struck a train that had derailed earlier in the day. No injuries were reported but the crash sparked an inferno and reignited concerns over the potential dangers of shipping oil by rail.
Read the complete story at the National Journal.