The Department of Transportation issued rules on Friday aimed at preventing deadly explosions caused by derailed oil trains.
The new regulations require trains carrying flammable crude through residential areas to not exceed a top speed of 40 miles per hour. They also force oil and rail companies to immediately hand over information about train specs and cargo to emergency first responders at the scene of an accident.
“The measures we are announcing today are a result of lessons learned from recent accidents and are steps we are able to take today to improve safety,” the department said in a press release.
The number of rail cars carrying oil from North Dakota, Montana, and Canada to the rest of the United States has shot up dramatically—to more than 493,000 in 2013, from 9,500 in 2008.
Due to a variety of causes, including, including operator error and bad weather, more than two-dozen oil trains have derailed in the US and Canada since 2013. The accidents have resulted in massive explosions, property and environmental damage, and loss of life.
This year alone, there have been four such accidents involving so-called “bomb trains,” afflicting sites in Ontario, West Virginia, and Illinois.
The town of Lac-Megantic in Quebec was leveled in June 2013 after a runaway bomb train derailed, resulting in the deaths of 47 residents.
DOT announced that the new actions it’s taking on Thursday will be “implemented immediately without any waiting period.”
“We do not want to wait one more day to make the rail transport of crude oil safer,” the department said.
Other regulations, including those forcing railroad companies to use stronger tank cars and new operations safety controls are still weaving their way through DOT’s rulemaking process.
