Cargo Business Newswire

Friday, February 7, 2014

Greenbrier to design safer railcar for transporting crude

Railcar maker Greenbrier announced it is designing a new "Tank Car of the Future" for rail transport of hazardous freight, including flammable crude oil and ethanol, that can better withstand the additional demands associated with operating unit trains.

The new design is meant to address safety concerns about the existing fleet of older DOT-111 tank cars, brought to light after the tragic Lac-Megantic derailment and other recent railcar incidents. It will also meet anticipated new regulations for tank cars carrying certain hazardous material, the statement said.

Greenbrier said it would also introduce safety retrofits for tank cars already in service or being produced.

"Statistics from the Association of American Railroads show that 99.99 percent of all rail-carried hazardous material arrives at its destination without incident," said Greenbrier chairman and CEO William Furman. "However, recent high-profile derailments have clearly demonstrated the need for updating the North American tank car fleet to the highest practical safety standards.

"Greenbrier is addressing the tank car safety issue on two fronts—by supporting a 'Tank Car of the Future' and through offering retrofit alternatives for the legacy fleet, including our most recently built CPC-1232 tank cars, as may be appropriate."

In order to respond to immediate safety concerns, and in anticipation of future action by the DOT, Greenbrier is also introducing retrofits for legacy DOT-111 cars and newer cars that meet the current CPC-1232 standard mandated by AAR.

The company said its retrofit package for newer CPC-1232 cars includes high-flow pressure relief valves and improved bottom outlet valve handles for any CPC-1232 cars in crude and ethanol service that were not originally equipped with these features.