Jersey Lawmakers Support Increased Safety for Rail Cars Carrying Oil

Worries about the possibilities of a deadly accident.

Perhaps spurred by memories of last year’s oil car derailment over the Schuylkill — or maybe a scarier 2012 incident in Jersey’s own Mantua Creek near the Philadelphia airport — some New Jersey lawmakers are urging federal officials to adopt tougher safety standards for rail cars that carry oil.

Newsworks reports:

Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, Assemblywoman Donna Simon, and Senator Kip Bateman are concerned about the National Transportation Safety Board’s findings that many of the tankers have steel shells that aren’t thick enough to prevent perforation during a derailment.

The proposed regulations would require thicker tankers and enhanced braking systems for trains, Ciattarelli said.

“This is really about public safety and about ensuring that there isn’t a tragedy within our communities in New Jersey and throughout the country,” he said. “The amount of crude oil that is being transported via rail car has increased 4,200 percent over the past six years.”

A reported seven million gallons of oil are shipped through New Jersey every day.