NTSB Calls for Stricter Rail Standards The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is urging tougher standards for oil tankers carrying Bakken crude. Related: Bakken Crude by Rail Under Attack In a 10 page letter to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the NTSB outlined its findings from their study of recent train derailment accidents and concluded that the current fleet of DOT-111 tank cars rupture too quickly and result in spillage and ignition. The agency also found that performance of the industry’s enhanced CPC-1232 rail car is unsatisfactory. Controversy over the safety of moving crude by rail has skyrocketed as several high-profile accidents have recently made headlines. This combined with a sharp increase in crude by rail since the start of the oil boom has many concerned. Related: Crude by Rail Up 1700% “We can’t wait a decade for safer rail cars,” said NTSB Chairman Christopher A. […]