To: United States Department of Transportation
Exploding oil train protections must go further
The Department of Transportation’s new oil train rules don’t go nearly far enough in protecting communities from explosive oil trains.
If we’re going to continue to ship crude oil by rail, we need these rules and protections ASAP:
• Replace all train cars in use with the safer standards within 6 months;
• Keep explosive oil trains out of highly populated areas;
• Require mandatory, frequent inspections of trail tracks and oil trains;
• Make train and oil companies pay for any damages from worst case disasters;
Your own experts have estimated that there will be 20 oil train derailments in the U.S over the next two years alone. We need the strongest steps possible to safeguard communities along these dangerous oil train routes.
Why is this important?
The U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) just announced new oil train regulations—but they won’t go nearly far enough to protect us.
After a year filled with numerous oil train derailments—including an explosive accident in West Virginia that burned for days—this new proposal leaves simple solutions on the table and it will take years for their proposed regulations to fully kick in.
For example, in the time it will take for a new, safer rail cars to become the norm under this proposal, the US DOT expects there will be TWENTY more oil train accidents.
We cannot allow more oil train disasters because of weak safety standards.