Cargo Business Newswire

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

AAR files appeal new oil-by-rail rule

On Friday (6-13), the Association of American Railroads filed an agency appeal with the U.S. Department of Transportation regarding its new crude-by-rail rules.

The rail association said the DOT should remove a requirement for an expensive new braking system that rail executives assert is unproven. The appeal also asks for enhanced thermal protection for tank cars, as well as to fully eliminate the usage of older tank cars considered unsafe for carrying flammable liquids.

"It is the AAR’s position the rule, while a good start, does not sufficiently advance safety and fails to fully address ongoing concerns of the freight rail industry and the general public," the group said in a statement.

Worry over transporting crude oil and other flammable liquids has increased after a string of at least nine fiery oil-train derailments in the U.S. and Canada since 2013, including one in Quebec that killed 47 people.

The agency has received six administrative appeals of the rules so far, including the AAR’s, according to a spokeswoman for the DOT Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The agency must next respond to the appellants within 90 days of the rule’s publication date, unless it files for an extension.

For more of the Wall Street Journal story: www.wsj.com