By Andrew Mayeda
Canada will require railways shipping crude oil to use stronger
tank cars and reduce the speed of trains carrying dangerous goods.
The Canadian government will ban the “least crash-resistant” of
tanker cars known as DOT-111s from carrying dangerous goods, Transport Minister
Lisa Raitt said today in Ottawa. DOT-111 cars carrying crude or ethanol that
don’t meet new safety standards must be phased out or refitted within three
years, she said.
“I am committed to making our country a model of world-class
safety,” Raitt said in a statement. “The measures I am announcing today improve
the safety of the railway and transportation of dangerous goods systems from
coast to coast to coast.”
The U.S. and Canadian governments have tightened rail safety
rules after crashes involving oil shipments, including the explosion in Lac-Megantic,
Quebec in July, that killed 47 people.
Today’s announcement comes after transportation regulators in
the U.S. and Canada said Jan. 23 that crude oil hauled by rail needs to be
shipped in stronger tank cars and on safer routes. The Transportation Safety
Board of Canada recommended tougher standards for DOT-111 cars, as well as
better route planning and detailed emergency-response plans in communities
where oil shipments travel, a recommendation Raitt accepted today. Her
announcement didn’t specify how slowly trains carrying dangerous goods would be
required to travel.
Shipments of oil by rail have increased as growing output from
Canada and the U.S. exceeds pipeline capacity.
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