Tag Archives: Deadly Oil Trains

There are no existing rail cars that could truly be considered safe for shipping crude oil.   By Dahr Jamail Truthout (6/9/15) In May, hundreds of doctors, nurses and health-care professionals from Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) called on Washington Gov. … Continue reading →

Democracy Now! (5/14/15) The death toll from Tuesday’s Amtrak train derailment in Philadelphia is now at seven and is expected to rise [An eighth body was found in the wreckage late Thursday evening. — DC Ed.) About a dozen passengers … Continue reading →

“Why Can’t America Have Great Trains?”   By John Nichols The Nation (5/13/15)   America’s “high-speed” rail lines are slow compared with those of the countries with which the United States chooses to compare itself. The schedules are unsteady. And, as the horrific … Continue reading →

By  Jim Spencer Star-Tribune (5/8/15) WASHINGTON – New federal rules that aim to improve oil train safety may actually make it harder for Minnesotans to learn about the highly explosive Bakken crude rolling through their communities. Federal and state legislators worry … Continue reading →

The LaCrosse Tribune, Editorial (5/8/15) Here’s the mission statement of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: “To protect and enhance our natural resources: Our air, land and water; our wildlife, fish and forests and the ecosystems that sustain all life. … Continue reading →

“There is no other industry in America that can get away with this kind of bullshit.” By Laura Dattaro Vice News (5/5/15)   The United States is churning out more crude oil than it has in nearly three decades. And with … Continue reading →

The Associated Press (5//15) A train that derailed and caught fire early on Wednesday in rural North Dakotawas hauling crude from the state’s oil patch, but it was not immediately known whether it had been treated under new state rules aimed … Continue reading →

    Photo by Curt Bemson (abcnews.go.com )     HEIMDAL, N.D. — The small North Dakota community of Heimdal and surrounding farmsteads have been evacuated after an oil tanker train derailed Wednesday morning. Wells County Emergency Manager Tammy Roehrich said the … Continue reading →

By Jon Bowermaster The New York Times (4/21/15) In recent years, small towns across the United States have begun hosting an increasingly common phenomenon: long trains, made up of 100-plus black cylindrical cars, rolling slowly past our hospitals, schools and homes. … Continue reading →

By Curtis Tate  McClatchy Washington Bureau (7/6/15) The National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB]on Monday called for the nation’s fleet of railroad tank cars hauling crude oil and ethanol to be equipped with fire protection within five years in an effort to eliminate … Continue reading →

The new BNSF bridge near Stoddard, Wisconsin nears completion. Photo by Mark L. Taylor, 2015.   By Mark L. Taylor The Daily Call (4/5/15)   The replacement BNSF railroad bridge just south of the Village of Stoddard is nearing completion. … Continue reading →

By Dan Gundersen Minnesota Public Radio (3/30/15) North Dakota environmentalists want oil companies to reduce volatile gasses in Bakken crude. Regulators, however, say they’re taking a different tack that’s cheaper for the industry and still improves safety. The gasses remain … Continue reading →

Progressive Railroading (3/31/15) BNSF Railway Co. yesterday announced it has taken additional steps to improve crude-by-rail transportation on its network. In a letter to customers, BSNF said it would work with them to phase out use of the older-model DOT-111 tank cars … Continue reading →