Federal officials determine broken rail caused West Virginia derailment of Bakken crude cars

A broken rail caused the February derailment of a CSX Transportation Inc.'s unit train hauling crude oil from North Dakota's Bakken formation to a transportation terminal in Yorktown, Va. , federal officials reported.

A total of 27 cars derailed Feb. 16 near Mount Carbon, W. Va., igniting a fire that burned for days, destroying one home, and forcing the temporary evacuation of hundreds of residents.

The train released an estimated 9,000 bbl of oil during the incident-of which about 6,400 bbl was recovered from derailed cars and containment trenches. The train carried crude for Plains All American. (UOGR March/April 2015, p. 1)

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) fined both CSX and its contractor Sperry Rail Service $25,000 for failing to identify the problem during two separate inspections before the incident. The broken rail resulted from a vertical split head rail defect, investigators concluded.

Consequently, FRA released a safety advisory in which it advocated closer, more detailed inspections where defects and flaws are suspected, and FRA called for stronger training for rail inspection vehicle operators.

FRA said it also will explore the need for rail-head wear standards and potentially requiring railroads to slow trains or replace a rail when certain conditions pose a safety risk.

In addition, FRA secured a commitment from CSX to require internal rail flaw operators to review previous inspection data with real-time data to help them identify conditions and flaws that have changed or worsened between inspections.

Acting FRA Administrator Sarah Feinberg said Oct. 13, "Broken rail is one of the leading causes of accidents. Railroads moving crude and other hazardous materials through and alongside communities bear significant and special responsibility. All railroads, not just CSX, must be more diligent when inspecting for internal rail flaws or when contracting out inspection work."

In 2 years, the US Department of Transportation has taken more than 24 actions to improve the safety of the transport of crude oil and other flammable liquids. In May, DOT released its final, comprehensive rule that raises the bar on the safe transportation of flammable liquids by rail.

The rule requires stronger tank cars and a better, faster, more efficient braking system - electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes. ECP brakes can reduce the distance and time needed for a train to stop and keep more tank cars on the track in case of a derailment.

The DOT rule supplemented FRA's actions to add an Automated Track Inspection Program car to inspect crude routes, focus track inspectors on crude routes, and secure voluntary agreements from railroads to inspect track more frequently than current federal regulations require.