BISMARCK, N.D., April 1 (UPI) -- BNSF Railway aims to eliminate older tank cars from crude oil service and take additional steps to improve safety in North Dakota, the state's governor said.
Starting Wednesday, the rail company will require trains hauling crude oil reduce their speeds in communities with more than 100,000 residents and work to remove all rail cars designated DOT-111 from service within a year and phase in newer CPC 1232 models.
"Railroad operations, equipment and maintenance are critical elements in our overall goal to improve rail safety, and I commend BNSF for taking these significant steps," North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple said in a statement. "At the same time, we must move forward on other important aspects of rail safety including the need for new federal tank car standards and greater pipeline capacity."
North Dakota's oil production is greater than existing pipeline capacity can handle, forcing many in the industry to use rail as an alternative transit method. The increase in rail traffic has in turn led to an increase in derailments involving trains carrying crude oil, a situation compounded by federal reports showing oil from the Bakken reserve area in North Dakota may be less stable than other crude oil grades.
The Department of Transportation last year called for the elimination of older rail cars designated DOT 111 for shipment of flammable liquid, "including most Bakken crude oil." A CSX Transportation oil-train derailment in West Virginia last month involved newer CPC-1232 model rail cars, which federal regulators said were "marginally" better than older cars.
Dalrymple said federal efforts on rail safety were long overdue. Meanwhile, three pipelines -- Sandpiper, Dakota Access and Upland -- should be in service by 2018 and provide 895,000 barrels per day in new capacity for Bakken crude oil.
BNSF, for its part, said it would invest more than $335 million to improve the rail system in North Dakota.
