MMA Derailment Factors

[Saturnalia]

Came across this figure today from Canada's TSB, on the factors contributing to the MMA wreck. It made me wonder, given the reasons stated for the tank cars.

Contributing Factors by TSBCanada, on Flickr

It says "breached tank cars and highly volatile crude oil".

We've previously established that tank cars, no matter their construction, would not have withstood the impacts of the wreck. So then, isn't the oil to blame?

The persuasion I've been picking up lately seems to be a shift towards examining the crude oil itself, regardless of the tank cars. We know now that for instance in WV that the new construction standards just don't (and others could not) withstand the forces of a higher-speed derailment. Shouldn't then, the oil be at least somewhat refined in the field, so as to reduce its volatility?

The persuasion I have been getting is that the oil industry points the fingers at the railroad and says "they need to do a better job at keeping the trains on the tracks", but given the INEVITABLE derailment, shouldn't the oil also be factored in as something that has to change? Seems to me the WELL FUNDED oil lobby is getting a lot done to keep their interests safe.

We've heard a crapton about tank cars and railroad operating practices, but what of the oil - the stuff that actually goes BOOM?

[Bulby]

What is most interesting about this latest derailment in WV to me at least, is that it occurred at 33 mph on a stretch of track with a 50mph speed limit. This means speed was probably not a factor. Based on the cold, I'm guessing a rail broke under the train.

As the TSB report points out, there are so many contributing factors to these derailments. Simply making tank cars stronger and implementing PTC faster (the current whipping posts) will not prevent it. To build a tank car that can withstand derailment energy at 35-40 mph would be nearly impossible, if not physically impossible. This isn't to say improvements can't and shouldn't be made, but it's not a cure-all, and nor is PTC or a signalling system.

Reducing volatility of crude reduces explosions, but you still have contamination of the surrounding environment.

It's railroading, Sh!t happens! There is no 100% way to prevent accidents and derailments, short of not running trains at all. (and the Minnesota Central still managed to derail a train without it moving so...)

Derailments are inevitable, the only question is how can we reduce the risk without making it impossible to keep things moving. A CPC-1232 car can theoretically withstand impact at 9 mph. What would happen to our already congested rail network if we restricted crude oil trains to 9 mph?

I stand by saying that Lac Megantic was a freak accident caused primarily because a railroad was using one man crews and attempting to eek every last dime of profit out of the business. If there had been a second man on that train, the odds are about 99% that the accident would not have happened.