Canada’s Senate Energy Committee has released a report calling for an independent review of rail transportation safety.
In its executive summary, the report highlighted the tragic Lac-Mégantic rail disaster. The derailment of a freight train loaded with crude oil on July 6, 2013 killed 47 people and caused substantial damage.
The Senate study was started last year before the derailment by the Standing Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources to look at safety issues in the transportation of bulk hydrocarbons by transmission pipelines, tankers and railcars in Canada.
The Committee made 13 recommendations, including:
- That the National Energy Board and Transport Canada create a web portal that includes interactive maps indicating detailed information on spills and incidents for pipelines, tankers and railcars, such as the types of product released and, as soon as possible, the cause of the incident.
- That Transport Canada apply appropriate minimum liability coverage thresholds to ensure rail companies have the financial capacity to cover damages caused by a major incident.
More information:
List of Committee’s recommendations – here
“Moving Energy Safely: A Study of the Safe Transport of Hydrocarbons by Pipelines, Tankers and Railcars in Canada” – full report – here
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