Rail officials seek better track inspections after W. Virginia oil train derailment
Federal officials urged better track inspections Friday after tracing the cause of a fiery oil-train derailment in West Virginia in February to track that had split.
CSX Corp., which owns the tracks, and its contractor, Sperry Rail Service, which inspects the tracks, missed the flaws during inspections in December 2014 and January 2015, federal investigators found. Federal investigators say the data on the faulty track was available from tests that examine tracks with technology similar to sonar, to find internal flaws, but that CSX and Sperry failed to act on the data.
The CSX train hauling crude oil from North Dakota to Virginia derailed 27 cars in Mount Carbon, W.Va., and the resulting fire burned for several days. Rail shipments of oil have drawn extra scrutiny since July 2013, when a train derailed and exploded, killing 47 people, in Quebec, Canada.
"Broken rail is one of the leading causes of accidents," Federal Railroad Administration Acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg said in announcing the findings. "All railroads, not just CSX, must be more diligent when inspecting for internal rail flaws or when contracting out inspection work."
The FRA fined CSX and Sperry each $25,000 for the failure to verify a potential rail defect.
The FRA is considering drafting regulations to set standards for when railroads should repair worn track, Feinberg said. Railroads now have their own guidelines, and FRA has met opposition when previously considering such rules, she said.
“There is cause for concern and need for action,” Feinberg said.
In response, CSX committed to requiring its operators to review previous inspection data to identify whether any known flaws may have changed or worsened, FRA said.
CSX said safety is the company's highest priority and that CSX has "fully complied with all regulations pertaining to crude oil transportation and other aspects of rail safety." CSX said it has the lowest rate of mainline derailments in the industry for track defects, based on FRA data.
"We are committed to continuously improving our ability to detect and correct rail defects before they cause an incident," the company said.
In collaboration with FRA, CSX said it is developing additional inspection processes that will enhance our ability to quickly and accurately identify rail flaws using tools provided by Sperry, the industry’s leading supplier of rail-flaw detection capabilities.
“Our country relies on the safe transportation of large quantities of energy products across the nation, and it is our responsibility to require operators to implement strict safety standards,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.