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[CNJRoss]

Railway Age, 2/24/20

 

U.S. Rails Monitoring Canadian Crude

 

 

The derailment of two separate oil trains roughly two months apart near Guernsey, Sask., each spilling more than 300,000 gallons of crude onto the ground and one igniting into a smoldering inferno, plus the resulting 30-day mandatory speed limit on such trains imposed by Transport Canada (20 mph in urban areas, 25 mph elsewhere), have raised questions about not only the cause of those derailments, but also about the durability of the tank cars, and the volatility of the crude they were carrying. It should also raise questions, and awareness, about the transport of Canadian crude on the U.S. rail system.

 

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[CNJRoss]

CKOM-AM Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 4/18/20
 

Guernsey derailments appear to be caused by track infrastructure issues

 

 

Twice in the span of two months a Canadian Pacific train carrying petroleum crude oil derailed near Guernsey, Saskatchewan, spilling more than 3 million litres of oil.

 

According to a letter written by the Transportation Safety Board’s acting director of investigations, Dan Holbrook, both derailments appear to be caused by track infrastructure issues.

 

“There were two significant derailments near Guernsey, both of which resulted in the release of substantial amounts of petroleum crude oil,” the letter read. “While both investigations are ongoing, in both cases, the suspected cause appears to be related to a broken rail.”

 

The letter goes on to say that of the seven derailments in Canada since 2015 that involved tank cars carrying crude oil, all of them have been a result of failing track infrastructure.

 

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