Canada to phase out older oil-rail cars

Canada has moved forward with plans to ban the use of older forms of rail cars for the transport of oil. Moving ahead of the US on such legislation, the government announced that older rail cars must be phased out by May 2017. The decision follows on from increase in accidents associated with certain car types, as well as a fatal accident that occurred in 2013.

The recommendation to improve rail safety when it comes to transporting oil was made by Canada's Transportation Safety Board after the rail car derailment in Quebec, which resulted in the death of 47 people. 

Phasing out older models of rail cars is just one of the measures that the government announced on Wednesday (April 24th) aimed at improving the safety of oil transportation. As transporting crude oil by rail is becoming more commonplace throughout North America, the number of incidents has also increased. However, due to the shortage of pipeline capacity, rail lines are needed to support the burgeoning market.

As Canada has moved ahead of the US with these changes, there are fears that the phasing out of older cars means they will be diverted for exclusive use in the US, which could lead to more incidents. Many of the car models have met with controversy in recent years and if the US government does not move to implement similar legislation, it could mean they continue to be used by the industry.

Lisa Raitt, Canada's transport minister, said: "We understand the necessity of harmonising with the United States on these matters. But on this one, we can move faster and we will move faster, and we want to ensure that since we're seeing this increase in crude on the rail, we want to ensure that we have the safest system in place."

The move will see DOT-111 cars, which have been found to often be vulnerable to leaking and puncturing and were also the type of car that derailed in Quebec last year, taken out of use. By 2017, the new oil tank cars, which have been constructed to a higher standard since late 2011, will represent the minimum standard in Canada.