Responders Learn Lessons From Heimdal, ND train Derailment

While no one ever wants to deal with the derailment of an oil train, last month’s accident near Heimdal was an opportunity for first responders to learn. Adam Ladwig of WDAZ News has the story.

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ND Railroads to Implement Positive Train Control

Postive Train Control (PTC) gives railroad administrators the ability to slow down trains without the engineer. It has vaulted to the top of the national conversation following the derailment in Philidelphia and is expected to be in place on North Dakota tracks this year.

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DOT’s Releases New Oil Train Safety Regulations, Senator Hoeven’s Comments

The U.S. Dept. of Transportation issued new rules regulating the transportation of flammable liquids by rail. The notable regulations: a timeline for replacing outdated tanker cars with newer cars, a new braking standard for certain trains, and new operational guidelines including speed limits in some cases. The news release from the DOT is included below,

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U.S., Canada Will Have Oil Train Safety Plan Friday

An official announcement will be made Friday that Canada and the U.S. have found common ground in how to manage the additional crude oil that is being shipped by rail.

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House, Senate pass PSC budget with Rail Safety Program

Senate Bill 2008 was approved by a wide margin. It allocates more than $500k for two state funded railroad safety inspectors through 2019. These inspectors would be in addition to several federal inspectors already providing oversight in the state.

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Investigators Release records of fiery Casselton derailment

The final report from federal investigators into the 2013 Casselton/BNSF train derailment has been released. Get the details on the report from AP writer Josh Funk as published on Bakken.com.

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Public Service Commision Budget Drops Rail Safety Program

The $972,000 program would have added three full-time positions in the Public Service Commissions budget focused on railroad inspections and safety. Full story on the debate from the Bismarck Tribune.

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First Responders in ND Training for Oil Spill Disasters

Oil spills and train derailments are not theoretically possible disasters in North Dakota, their things we’ve already experienced, and our first line of defense is first responders. WDAZ News has the story on what we’re doing to prepare them.

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BNSF Announces Measures to Improve Railroad Safety

Railroad safety is and should be a topic of national conversation, and The Dickinson Press has the latest on steps being taken by Burlington Northern Santa Fe.

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Does It Matter If West Virginia Train Was Carrying North Dakota Oil?

Rob Port at Say Anything Blog.com provides the commentary on the West Virginia train derailment that exposes the biased coverage of major media outlets. Is the derailment a story? Yes. Does the media go out of their way to sensationalize the Bakken angle? Yes also.

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Train Derailment In West Virginia Sends Oil Tanker Into River

In West Virginia, 14 tanker cars caught fire and exploded following a derailment. The train was carrying crude oil from the Bakken oil field to Yorktown, Virginia.

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One Year Later: Casselton Train Derailment

It’s been a year since the train derailment in Casselton made national headlines. This is good touch-point article on what has happened since the derailment to help prevent something like this from happening again.

Read & Share   sourced from: InForum

Train Derailment S.E. of Fargo

Thankfully the train was carrying lumber and other non-hazardous material. The incident on the B.N.S.F line included 32 cars, and is another reminder of the risks associated with transporting oil over the railways.

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Another Train Derailment Near Casselton

Two BNSF trains derailed near the Tharaldson Ethanol plant in Casselton. The eastbound train was carrying lumber, the westbound train was an empty oil train.

Read & Share   sourced from: KMOT News