Railroad Tank Cars

Fast Facts: Railroads in general do not own rail tank cars; the vast majority are owned by leasing companies or rail customers to ship products. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Transport Canada (TC) and the Association of American Railroads (AAR)-North American Tank Car Committee issue tank car regulations and standards. DOT and TC issue federal regulations, while the AARNorth American Tank Car Committee sets industry standards. The Tank Car Committees standards today exceed the federal requirements. DOT-111 tank cars for crude oil and ethanol ordered after October 2011 meet the higher AARTank Car Committee standards. There are 310,000 tank cars (pressure and non-pressure) in todays fleet, of which 240,000 are DOT-111 tank cars. All DOT-111 tank cars operating today meet both current federal regulatory requirements and AAR-North American Tank Car Committee standards and continue to operate safely. DOT-111s are non-pressure tank cars designed to carry a mixture of hazardous and nonhazardous materials, including crude oil and ethanol. Roughly half of the tank cars used to move crude today were built to the higher specifications spelled out by the Tank Car Committee.

Railroads Have an Outstanding Track Record in Safely Delivering Hazardous Materials In 2012, North American railroads safely delivered more than 2.47 million carloads of hazardous materials. (Source: 2012 Bureau of Explosives Annual Report) More than 99.997 percent of hazardous material carloads moving by rail arrive at their destination without a release caused by an accident. (Source: AAR Analysis of FRA Train Accident Database. Carloads from ICC/STB Waybill Sample) Rail hazmat accident rates have declined 91 percent since 1980. (Source: AAR Analysis of FRA Train Accident Database. Carloads from ICC/STB Waybill Sample)

Standards Setting DOT and the AAR-North American Tank Car Committee The AAR-North American Tank Car Committee is comprised of the AAR, rail car owners and manufacturers as well as shippers of hazmat, rail customers, DOT, TC and the National

Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The committee works together to develop technical standards for how rail cars, including tank cars used to move hazmat, are designed and constructed. DOTs Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and TC issue federal tank car regulations. However, the AAR-North American Tank Car Committee also issues standards, which today exceed the federal requirements. In 2008, the AAR-North American Tank Car Committee addressed the existing standards for tank cars transporting ethanol. This effort was expanded to include all DOT packing group I and II hazardous materials. Ethanol, as well as some crude oil, are packing group I and II materials. AAR on behalf of the AAR-North American Tank Car Committee petitioned PHMSA in March 2011 to adopt the Committees new standards for packing group I and II hazardous materials. These standards are predicted to result in an almost 50 percent decrease in the probability of a release from a derailed tank car. Under AARs proposal, the standards would be applicable to new tank cars. Recognizing that DOT action was not imminent, in July of 2011 AAR adopted the higher standards proposed to DOT as requirements for new tank cars transporting crude oil and ethanol, ordered after October 1, 2011. The Tank Car Committee felt this was needed to ensure that the thousands of new tank cars being built would meet the higher safety standard. All DOT-111 crude oil and ethanol tank cars ordered since October 2011 adhere to the tougher Tank Car Committee standards and include: o o o o Thicker, puncture-resistant shell Extra protective head shields at both ends of tank car Additional protection for the top fittings Higher flow capacity pressure release valves

NTSB and DOT-111 Recommendations Following an accident in Illinois in 2009, the NTSB made a number of safety recommendations to both the AAR and PHMSA regarding the DOT-111s.

The NTSB recommended to PHMSA that it require modifications be made on all existing and new DOT-111s. PHMSA did not mandate a fleet retrofit, nor has it published new standard designs for crude and ethanol tank cars. The AAR-North American Tank Car Committee has, independent of a federal mandate, implemented nearly all of the recommendations made to PHMSA in its design standards for new crude oil and ethanol tank cars ordered after October 2011. Fifty percent of the DOT-111 fleet carrying crude today meets the more stringent design standards. The NTSB also recommended the AAR review the design requirements for attaching center sills or draft sills for all tank cars. The AAR-North American Tank Car Committee has studied the stub sill issue and is close to revising those standards as recommended.

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