Derailment after derailment. They just keep happening.

Since early February, there have been at least four train derailments in North America carrying crude from North Dakota’s Bakken Shale. These accidents have sparked increased calls from citizens, the rail industry and lawmakers for the federal government to increase safety regulations.

To keep up with these incidents, PublicSource will provide a roundup of stories every week.

We now know what caused the West Virginia derailment: a broken rail on the tracks. A federal report out this week identified the cause of the crash and also found major issues with the tank cars, according to McClatchy .

Rail defect, tank car valves implicated in West Virginia oil train fire

A mayor in Washington state plans to spend a week camping by railroad tracks to record the frequency of crude oil trains traveling through his city, according to Camas-Washougal Post-Record.

Washougal mayor to camp by the railroad tracks

In one of its first efforts to do so, the feds map out what a crude oil train crash might look like in a major city, according toThe Wall Street Journal.

Disaster Plans for Oil Trains

Harrisburg city council members want the federal government to require improvements for tank cars carrying crude oil and want Pennsylvania state emergency response officials to help better prepare local emergency responders for a potential crash, according to Lancaster Online.

Harrisburg City Council passes resolution calling for safety of oil trains ​

Reach Natasha Khan at 412-315-0261 or nkhan@publicsource.org. Follow her on Twitter @khantasha.

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Natasha is PublicSource's creative director. She runs the organizations visuals team, edits and produces interactive graphics, data visualizations and web packages for PublicSource. She manages the website...