New regulations that could require the railroad industry to improve, phase out or retrofit the tank cars it uses to haul crude oil and other flammable liquids are still more than a year away, according to a schedule published by the U.S. Department of Transportation Tuesday. The new schedule, an update published in a short notice in the federal register, gave the most specific timetable yet for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration’s rule-making process. PHMSA is the agency responsible for the safety of hazardous-material transport. According to the schedule, PHMSA will publish its proposed changes to tank-car rules in November. It then will give the public 60 days to comment. Only after that period is scheduled to end in January 2015 would the agency incorporate the comments and issue final rules. Tank-car safety has become a hot issue following recent crude-oil derailments that have resulted in fiery crashes […]