U.S. freight railroads, USDOT launch industry wide crude by rail safety initiative

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip: Railroads and AAR announce oil train safety measures

U.S. freight railroads, USDOT launch industry wide crude by rail safety initiative

Friday, February 21, 2014

Major freight railroads in the United States joined U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in announcing a rail operations safety initiative that will institute new voluntary operating practices for moving crude oil by rail. ... The announcement follows consultations between railroads represented by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), including the leadership of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
....

Under the industry's voluntary efforts, railroads will take the following steps:

Increased Track Inspections – Effective March 25, railroads will perform at least one additional internal-rail inspection each year above those required by new FRA regulations on main line routes over which trains moving 20 or more carloads of crude oil travel. Railroads will also conduct at least two high-tech track geometry inspections each year on main line routes over which trains with 20 or more loaded cars of crude oil are moving. Current federal regulations do not require comprehensive track geometry inspections. A recent article in RT&S by Louis Cerny details FRA's new rule on defective rail and rail inspection standards.

Braking Systems – No later than April 1, railroads will equip all trains with 20 or more carloads of crude oil with either distributed power or two-way telemetry end-of-train devices. These technologies allow train crews to apply emergency brakes from both ends of the train in order to stop the train faster.
....

Lower Speeds – No later than July 1, railroads will operate trains with 20 or more tank cars carrying crude oil that include at least one older DOT-111 car no faster than 40 miles-per-hour in the federally designated 46 high-threat-urban areas (HTUA) as established by DHS regulations. In the meantime, railroads will continue to operate trains with 20 or more carloads of hazardous materials, including crude oil, at the industry self-imposed speed limit of 50 miles per hour.

I left out many of the items on the list.

Where are the high-threat urban areas? I thought you'd never ask.

Appendix A to Part 1580—High Threat Urban Areas (HTUAs)

State -- Candidate urban area -- Geographic area captured in the data count -- Previously designated urban areas included

AZ Phoenix Area* Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Phoenix, AZ.
CA Anaheim/Santa Ana Area Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Orange, Santa Ana, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Anaheim, CA; Santa Ana, CA.
Bay Area Berkeley, Daly City, Fremont, Hayward, Oakland, Palo Alto, Richmond, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Vallejo, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Oakland, CA.
Los Angeles/Long Beach Area Burbank, Glendale, Inglewood, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Santa Clarita, Torrance, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Los Angeles, CA; Long Beach, CA.
Sacramento Area* Elk Grove, Sacramento, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Sacramento, CA.
San Diego Area* Chula Vista, Escondido, and San Diego, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area San Diego, CA.
CO Denver Area Arvada, Aurora, Denver, Lakewood, Westminster, Thornton, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Denver, CO.
DC National Capital Region National Capital Region and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area National Capital Region, DC.
FL Fort Lauderdale Area Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Miami Gardens, Miramar, Pembroke Pines, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area N/A.
Jacksonville Area Jacksonville and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Jacksonville, FL.
Miami Area Hialeah, Miami, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Miami, FL.
Orlando Area Orlando and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Orlando, FL.
Tampa Area* Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tampa, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Tampa, FL.
GA Atlanta Area Atlanta and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Atlanta, GA.
HI Honolulu Area Honolulu and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Honolulu, HI.
IL Chicago Area Chicago and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Chicago, IL.
IN Indianapolis Area Indianapolis and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Indianapolis, IN.
KY Louisville Area* Louisville and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Louisville, KY.
LA Baton Rouge Area* Baton Rouge and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Baton Rouge, LA.
New Orleans Area New Orleans and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border New Orleans, LA.
MA Boston Area Boston, Cambridge, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Boston, MA.
MD Baltimore Area Baltimore and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Baltimore, MD.
MI Detroit Area Detroit, Sterling Heights, Warren, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Detroit, MI.
MN Twin Cities Area Minneapolis, St. Paul, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined entity Minneapolis, MN; St. Paul, MN.
MO Kansas City Area Independence, Kansas City (MO), Kansas City (KS), Olathe, Overland Park, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Kansas City, MO.
St. Louis Area St. Louis and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border St. Louis, MO.
NC Charlotte Area Charlotte and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Charlotte, NC.
NE Omaha Area* Omaha and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Omaha, NE.
NJ Jersey City/Newark Area Elizabeth, Jersey City, Newark, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Jersey City, NJ; Newark, NJ.
NV Las Vegas Area* Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined entity Las Vegas, NV.
NY Buffalo Area* Buffalo and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Buffalo, NY.
New York City Area New York City, Yonkers, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area New York, NY.
OH Cincinnati Area Cincinnati and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Cincinnati, OH.
Cleveland Area Cleveland and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Cleveland, OH.
Columbus Area Columbus and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Columbus, OH.
Toledo Area* Oregon, Toledo, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Toledo, OH.
OK Oklahoma City Area* Norman, Oklahoma and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Oklahoma City, OK.
OR Portland Area Portland, Vancouver, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Portland, OR.
PA Philadelphia Area Philadelphia and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Philadelphia, PA.
Pittsburgh Area Pittsburgh and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Pittsburgh, PA.
TN Memphis Area Memphis and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Memphis, TN.
TX Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington Area Arlington, Carrollton, Dallas, Fort Worth, Garland, Grand Prairie, Irving, Mesquite, Plano, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Dallas, TX; Fort Worth, TX; Arlington, TX.
Houston Area Houston, Pasadena, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined entity Houston, TX.
San Antonio Area San Antonio and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border San Antonio, TX.
WA Seattle Area Seattle, Bellevue, and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area Seattle, WA.
WI Milwaukee Area Milwaukee and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border Milwaukee, WI.

[elleng]

1. Excellent news.

Thanks for this, mahatma!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Mandatory Canadian content

Again, hat tip to Trainorders: Canadian Railroads > Newspaper series on rail safety

Date: 02/22/14 09:46
Newspaper series on rail safety
Author: thehighwayman

The Hamilton Community News website has a series of articles posted yesterday dealing with rail safety.

Rail Safety