Why So Many Trains Derailing?

[Cratter]

Poor Train Driving Skills or Antiqued Infrastructure?

 

Or conspiracy to build a pipeline?

 

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/region/3738800-740-pm-update-city-evacuated-after-train-derails-catches-fire-near-heimdal-nd

[jdub27]

Frost coming out and ground got soft. Lots of sloughs right where that happened.

[cberkas]

Train speed along with track maintenance.  

[The Sicatoka]

Not enough ribbon rail (only one weld/seam every half mile), where the existing stuff has many more seams and thus opportunities for failure points. 

 

They just finished doing the section from Fargo to Grand Forks. That lets them increase open country speeds now too. 

 

 

Oh, and more trains means more opportunity for accidents. 

[The Sicatoka]

If Sandpiper was as far along as it should be we'd be closer to fewer train accidents also. 

[UNDBIZ]

There have always been train derailments, they simply weren't reported prior to the oil boom (they were carrying grain and didn't explode upon derailment).

[Cratter]

Should I not park my car close to a crossing guard when a train is directly in front of me?

[runaroundsioux]

Should I not park my car close to a crossing guard when a train is directly in front of me?

You should never do that, no matter what a train is hauling. Trains are heavy.

[ericpnelson]

If Sandpiper was as far along as it should be we'd be closer to fewer train accidents also. 

Preach!!! The railroads have consistently shown an inability to carry the current volume of goods expected by them. 

[Fetch]

What would it take to make a tanker that is A LOT less likely to explode (No such thing as fire proof)

[SiouxVolley]

What would it take to make a tanker that is A LOT less likely to explode (no such thing as fire proof)

Install strippers at the loading stations to remove the gas. There's a company that want to build these and more diesel refineries in the Bakken, but shipping would be much more expensive as that company would essentially get a few dollars from every barrel produced in ND. Some of the huge loading stations would become obsolete, so midstream companies would fight it tooth and nail as they loose billions they have invested, or have to spend hundreds of millions to keep up. Texas doesn't have that problem as there is pipelines existing. Texas does ship some natural gasoline almost direct from the oil fields, and they require stripping of that, but not for oil.

The necessity of removing gases like ethane and propane from the oil was mentioned this week in the Bakken forum before the latest crash.

There are actually some tankers that are much thicker steel, like chlorine and ammonia rail cars. If those rupture, there's a toxic deadly cloud for miles downstream.