Nebraska has emerged as ground zero in oil transport showdown

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/money/nebraska-has-emerged-as-ground-zero-in-oil-transport-showdown/article_fdf42781-ff1d-50b2-bdf4-b2e5816f3472.html




SARAH HOFFMAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Oakland, Nebraska, and the tracks that carry trains through town have been together for more than 100 years. But trains hauling crude oil in tanker cars through Oakland and other parts of the state are a recent development, and concerns about safety grow. Oil pipelines such as the proposed Keystone XL have their opponents as well.


POSTED: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2014 12:30 AM

By Russell Hubbard / World-Herald staff writer

OAKLAND, Neb. — If you visit here and turn off Oakland Avenue toward the railroad tracks, you just might find Brendan Murray prowling up and down the street, cataloging the cracks in the pavement and the scars on the buildings.

The owner of an apartment building facing the railroad tracks says problems with his 100-year-old structure accelerated with the massive increase in BNSF Railway trains hauling crude oil in tanker cars. Murray also says a derailment and crude oil fire would be deadly for Oakland, population 1,244.



“Keep it underground,” Murray says, referring to transporting crude by pipeline.

Not so fast, says Jane Kleeb. She is not a fan of crude trains either, but she is also the director of Bold Nebraska, the group opposed to construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. It would bring 1 million barrels of crude oil per day across the state.



SARAH HOFFMAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

Brendan Murray holds a piece of a building that fell near the tracks. He often walks Oakland Avenue cataloging cracks in the pavement and on buildings that he suspects are caused by vibrations from oil trains.

FULL story AND more info at link.

[NYC_SKP]

1. Do cars hauling crude do more damage than other rail traffic?

It's an interesting argument being made. I tend to side with Kleeb who opposes new pipelines and not Murray, who complains about train vibrations.

At least train tracks can serve multiple purposes and already exist.

Underground pipelines can't transport passengers or produce.

OAKLAND, Neb. — If you visit here and turn off Oakland Avenue toward the railroad tracks, you just might find Brendan Murray prowling up and down the street, cataloging the cracks in the pavement and the scars on the buildings.

The owner of an apartment building facing the railroad tracks says problems with his 100-year-old structure accelerated with the massive increase in BNSF Railway trains hauling crude oil in tanker cars. Murray also says a derailment and crude oil fire would be deadly for Oakland, population 1,244.

“Keep it underground,” Murray says, referring to transporting crude by pipeline.

Not so fast, says Jane Kleeb. She is not a fan of crude trains either, but she is also the director of Bold Nebraska, the group opposed to construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. It would bring 1 million barrels of crude oil per day across the state.