Oil Train Safety Megathread. Updated July 30, 2023

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37. Report questions safety of rusting, crumbling railroad bridges

Last edited Mon Nov 16, 2015, 10:28 AM - Edit history (1)

Transportation

Report questions safety of rusting, crumbling railroad bridges

By Ashley Halsey III November 10

After a weekend in which two freight trains derailed, spilling their contents, an advocacy group’s report released Tuesday says bridges that carry dozens of those types of trains each day are in dangerous disrepair.

Although neither weekend derailment involved a bridge, one resulted in the leak of almost 20,000 gallons of ethanol into the Mississippi River. Fear that a train could topple from a decrepit bridge to pollute a river or marshland led the Waterkeeper Alliance to begin inspecting rail bridges.

{Crews work to clear up after 2 Wisconsin train derailments}

The report says “citizen inspectors” who visited 250 rail bridges in 15 states found that 114 of them had deteriorated badly. In some cases, the report says, the inspectors were present when oil trains crossed the bridges and “observed flexing, slumping and vibrations that caused concrete to crumble.”

The report calls for stronger federal oversight of the railroads that own an estimated 100,000 bridges in the United States. Congress in 2008 mandated that railroads inspect their bridges annually, subject to review by federal regulators.

The article did not say what training one had to receive to be qualified as a "citizen inspector" of bridges.

Oil trains pose risks to aging bridges, report finds

By Brian Nearing on November 10, 2015 at 12:37 PM

Five aging railroad bridges in New York _ including one over the Normanskill in Albany County _ are part of a nationwide study of aging bridges at risk from the pounding being given by massive oil trains.

Waterkeeper Alliance, ForestEthics, Riverkeeper and a national network of Waterkeeper organizations released a the report, entitled DEADLY CROSSING: Neglected Bridges & Exploding Oil Trains that examined 250 bridges in 15 states where oil trains are running.

That report found “serious concern” on 114 bridges, with visible signs “of significant stress and decay, such as rotted, cracked, or crumbling foundations, and loose or broken beams. Waterkeepers were also present when crude oil trains passed and observed flexing, slumping and vibrations that crumbled concrete.”

Regarding the qualifications of "citizen inspectors" of bridges:

Environment groups' study calls attention to rail bridge safety

By KIMBERLY CAUVEL Nov 15, 2015

[e-mail]
@Kimberly_SVH
360-416-2199,
http://www.Facebook.com/bykimberlycauvel

Environment groups from throughout the country say government oversight, industry transparency and safety standards fall short when it comes to railroad bridges that in recent years have seen an increase in the number of oil trains that cross them.

A study released Tuesday titled “Deadly Crossings: Neglected Bridges and Exploding Oil Trains,” urges government and industry officials to take action to prevent derailments such as the one that killed 47 in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, in July 2013 or the one that spilled burning oil into the James River in Lynchburg, Virginia, earlier this year. ... The study comes from RE Sources in Bellingham, which collaborated with international environment groups ForestEthics and the Waterkeeper Alliance to develop the report.
....

Between July and September, the groups that worked on the report canvased 15 states, inspected 251 bridges, and found deficiencies in 114 of them, according to the report. ... The report acknowledges that while those who did the inspections are not engineers, they documented cracks, missing pieces, rust and deterioration of foundations that were visible to the naked eye.

The Association of American Railroads criticized the report in a Nov. 10 statement, calling it “misguided and misleading.” ... “Evaluating rail bridges is a complicated exercise that requires specialized training. By its own admission, the report relies solely on anecdotal visual observations by untrained Waterkeeper members rather than professional bridge safety experts to draw conclusions about rail bridges,” the association said.