AAR Challenges Portions of Tank Car Safety Rule
The Association of American Railroads challenged portions of the Department of Transportation’s new tank car safety rule by filing an appeal to remove, change or add some provisions in it.
The trade association’s move challenges rules that were announced May 1 in a joint presentation with Canada’s transport agency. The rules were developed after multiple tank car accidents and explosions since mid-2013, including one in Lac Megantic, Quebec, that left 47 people dead.
“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,” Ed Greenberg, a spokesman for the trade group, told TT.
Specifically, AAR asked “DOT to close the gap in the rule that allows shippers to continue using tank cars not meeting new design specifications, to remove the [electronically controlled pneumatic] brake requirement and to enhance thermal protection by requiring a thermal blanket as part of new tank car safety design standards.”
The trade group didn’t immediately provide further details on its filing, and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.
The rule that was announced set a series of deadlines for addition of safety equipment as well as changes in train operations procedures.
The trade group wants DOT to bar shippers from using tank cars without added safety protection in groups of 35 or fewer cars. The brakes are “unproven technology that will not prevent derailments and will not provide meaningful overall safety benefits.”
