Derailment after derailment. They just keep happening.

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

Feds restore disclosure order for crude oil trains

U.S. Department of Transportation officials have restored an order that requires railroads to give states information about crude oil shipments. Emergency responders and politicians, including U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.), had raised concerns after new federal rules nixed the requirement.​

Secret trains

The Philadelphia Inquirer explores the lack of public information available about crude oil shipments and the infrastructure on which they travel.

Railroad CEO: Amtrak crash means there won’t be a reduction of crew members on trains anytime soon

The deadly Amtrak crash that killed eight people this month raised questions about the safety of trains with one engineer on board, which will likely curtail efforts to reduce crews on freight trains to cut costs, according to Bloomberg News.

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...