More rail tank cars meet US safety standards
Nearly half, 48%, of rail tank cars carrying class 3 flammable liquids in 2019 met the new safety requirements, up from 33% in 2018, according to the latest statistics of the US department of transportation’s bureau of transportation statistics (BTS).
The report says that this improvement is due to the introduction of a fleet of DOT-117s, which meet new safety requirements, for the transportation of class 3 flammable liquids. Currently some class 3 flammable liquids are still carried in rail tank cars, such as DOT-111s, which have fewer safety features.
It is expected that the transformation of the fleet will be complete by 2029. For crude oil alone, 73% of the tank car fleet in 2019 consisted of DOT-117s, up from 46% in 2018. (ben)