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oil-train-railCrude oil hit its five year low price on Monday, Dec. 8, under pressure from growing production in the U.S. and the unwillingness of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut production. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude benchmark, declined 4.3 percent to $63.05 per barrel and Brent crude, which reflects the global market, fell 4.2 percent to $66.10 per barrel.

Amid fears of a continuing decline in crude prices, railroad stock prices have also sunk. The Dow Jones U.S. Railroad Index, which is based on eight U.S. railroads, had gained 34.7 percent during the year through Nov. 26. However, following the news of the OPEC disagreeing on production cuts, the DJUSRR declined 7.4 percent through Dec. 8. Investors are clearly worried about the impact of the crude oil price decline on railroads. In this article we take a look at railroads’ crude oil shipments and assess whether crude prices may have an adverse impact on railroads’ volumes and revenue.

Read the complete story at Forbes.

oil-train-railEveryone nowadays seems to either love or hate “fracking” for oil and natural gas in U.S. shale formations.

But fracking enjoys an enviable safety record. After all, a large fraction of it is done a mile underground. Not much, if any, evidence of groundwater contamination has been found at fracking sites.

Read the complete story at The Hill.

According to The Washington Post, a $1.01 trillion spending bill that will keep most of the federal government funded through September retains Amtrak’s current funding of $1.39 billion, the same amount it currently receives.

It also provides $3 million to expand inspections along the roughly 14,000 miles of track used by trains hauling oil tankers.

To view the Post’s summary of the bill, click here.

 

 

oil-train-railThe drop in the price of oil since OPEC failed in its meeting last week to agree on production cuts has sparked speculation about whether production in North Dakota’s Bakken shale region will decline as some marginal drilling operations become financially less viable.

Some market observers see the drop in the price of railroad stocks since last week’s OPEC meeting as a harbinger of less Bakken crude being produced and less being moved by rail.

Read the complete story at Roll Call.

oil-train-railThe Washington Department of Ecology on Monday delivered a report to state legislators outlining key recommendations to improve public safety in response to the rapid increase of crude-by-rail shipments through the state.

The Washington Legislature requested the study due to recent changes in how crude is transported through rail corridors and waterways. The “Marine and Rail Oil Transportation Study” includes 40 recommendations on ways to better protect public health and safety — such as the prevention of an oil train derailment or spill — as well as how to better respect tribal treaty rights.

Read the complete story at Progressive Railroading.

oil-train-railNorth Dakota’s energy regulators are considering new rules to make the state’s “Bakken” crude oil, which has been involved in a number of explosive train crashes, safer to move by rail.

Proposed standards announced Thursday by the state Department of Mineral Resources follow a series of fiery rail accidents over the last 18 months that have made ballooning number “crude by rail” shipments highly controversial across the country.

Read the complete story at 

oil-train-railThree days after an oil train derailed and exploded in 2013 in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, killing 47 people, Greg Saxton wandered through the disaster site inspecting tank cars.

For Saxton, the damage was personal. Some of the tank cars were built by Greenbrier, an Oregon-based manufacturer where he’s chief engineer. Almost every car that derailed was punctured, some in multiple places. Crude oil flowed from the gashes, fueling the flames, covering the ground, and running off into nearby waterways.

Read the complete story at National Geographic.

 

oil-train-railU.S. railroads are rallying customers, including lumber and steel companies, to fight a government proposal to slow trains hauling crude oil.

Urged by railroads, more than a dozen companies and business groups are warning regulators that cutting speeds to 40 mph from 50 mph would have a cascading effect, delaying other trains sharing the tracks carrying cargo such as furniture, grain and electronics.

Read the complete story at Transport Topics.

oil-train-railCalifornia’s two major railroad companies have filed suit in federal court challenging a state law requiring railroads to come up with an oil spill prevention and response plan.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, contends federal laws largely prohibit states from imposing safety rules on railroads such as the ones California began imposing July 1 of this year. The plaintiffs in the matter are the Union Pacific Railroad, the BNSF and the Association of American Railroads.

Read the complete story at The Sacramento Bee.

WASHINGTON — Two railroad industry trade groups have quietly asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to drop its requirement that rail carriers transporting large volumes of Bakken crude oil notify state emergency officials.

The railroads have maintained that they already provide communities with adequate information about hazardous materials shipments and that public release of the data could harm the industry from a security and business standpoint. But they haven’t been successful in convincing numerous states or the federal government.

Read the complete story at The Columbian.