Derailment after derailment. They just keep happening.

Since early February, there have been numerous 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 and new safety regulations, PublicSource provides a roundup of stories every Friday.

 

Railroads threaten to suspend service

If Congress does not extend a Dec. 31 deadline for railroads to implement positive train control — a safety feature that could have prevented the Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia — major railroads have said they may suspend services for both freight and passenger rail lines, according to Reuters.

 

Maryland releases crude oil routing information 

After countless public records request and a lawsuit from the rail industry, Maryland state officials on Wednesday released information to the public on the number of trains and routes on which crude oil is transported, according to The Baltimore Sun.

 

California implements new rail safety law

The new state law requires trains carrying freight cargo, including crude oil, to be operated by two people, according to the Vallejo Times-Herald.

 

Environmental group says oil trains bypass thousands of U.S. schools

The group’s analysis found nearly 15,000 U.S. schools with 5.7 million students are within one mile of tracks that haul toxic substances, including crude oil, according to Reuters. 

 

Reach Natasha Khan at nkhan@publicsource.org. Follow her on Twitter @khantasha.

Know more than you did before? Support this work with a MATCHED gift!

Through Dec. 31, the Wyncote Foundation, Loud Hound Foundation and our generous local match pool supporters will match your new monthly donation 12 times or double your one-time gift, all up to $1,000. Now that's good news!

Readers tell us they can't find the information they get from our reporting anywhere else, and we're proud to provide this important service for our community. We work hard to produce accurate, timely, impactful journalism without paywalls that keeps our region informed and moving forward.

However, only about .1% of the people who read our stories contribute to our work financially. Our newsroom depends on the generosity of readers like yourself to make our high-quality local journalism possible, and the costs of the resources it takes to produce it have been rising, so each member means a lot to us.

Your MATCHED donation to our nonprofit newsroom helps ensure everyone in Allegheny County can stay up-to-date about decisions and events that affect them. Please make your gift of support now.

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...