Cargo Business Newswire

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Senator Cantwell to introduce stronger standards for trains
hauling crude

In a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Tuesday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell said she would be introducing legislation to establish new, stronger safety standards for trains hauling crude oil.

She said the issue is of the "utmost importance to the people of the Northwest," as an average of 19 oil trains currently cross Washington State each week.

Cantwell told U.S. DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx that the Administration’s proposed rule under consideration isn’t strong enough and that legislation would be necessary to protect communities.

"I want to be clear and on the record: I will be

introducing legislation to support a thicker hull and quicker phase-out than what is currently proposed," Cantwell said. "We are not moving fast enough. I look forward to seeing your rule but we are going to come out with tougher standards."

The DOT’s proposed rules would phase out, over the course of several years, the use of older "DOT-111" tank cars for the shipment of Bakken crude. The DOT-111 poses a higher safety risk than newer cars, whose hulls are less likely to puncture in the case of a derailment. About 80,000 of the older, less safe DOT-111’s are now hauling flammable liquids.

For more of the KIRO TV story: www.kirotv.com

Senator Cantwell to introduce stronger standards for trains hauling crude

Senator Cantwell to introduce stronger standards for trains
hauling crude