Tag Archives: Deadly Oil Trains

Inspectors Find Dozens Of Minnesota Rail Bridges Need Repair

“The railroad tells us, if we don’t feel safe, close the road underneath… That’s our only option.” (Editor’s Note: As those of us who live along the Mississippi and are familiar with the rail lines crowded with crude oil trains … Continue reading

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Oil Trains Don’t Have To Derail Or Explode To Be Hazardous, Doctors Warn

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

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As Train Crash Death Toll Reaches 7, GOP Votes To Cut Amtrak Budget By $250M & Delay Safety Upgrades

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

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In Aftermath Of Deadly Philly Train Wreck, Congress Has To Get Serious About Railroads And Nation’s Rotting Infrastructure

“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

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What Money Buys: Walker’s Crony Capitalism Assured Crude Oil Bomb Trains Get DNR Permit To Put La Crosse At Risk

By Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (5/8/15) The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) revised a state permit to allow a railroad, whose employees have given Republican Gov. Scott Walker more than $61,000 in campaign contributions, to expand its lines for controversial crude … Continue reading

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New Rules May Make It Harder To Get Information On Bakken Oil Trains

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

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LaCrosse Tribune: Wisconsin DNR’s Actions Damage Public’s Trust

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

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Feds Announce New Rules for ‘Bomb Trains’ — and No One’s Happy

“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

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Crude Oil Bomb Train Inferno Hits North Dakota Town: ‘I got in my car, still in my underwear’

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

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Another BNSF Crude Oil ‘Bomb Train’ Goes Off

    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

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Short Video On Threat Posed By Crude Oil Bomb Trains: ‘A Danger On Rails’

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

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NTSB: Equip Oil Trains With Fire Protection Within 5 Years

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

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New Rail Road Bridge At Stoddard Nears Completion … But A Lot of Work Remains Before BNSF Has A Modern, Safe System

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

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Critics Press North Dakota To Make Explosive Bakken Oil Safer Despite Costs

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

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In Face Of Fiery Explosive Incidents, BNSF Modifying Crude-oil Train Operating Procedures

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

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