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http://www.adn.com/2014/01/24/3288818/backers-report-on-rail-risks-boosts.html



The National Transportation Safety Board onThursday Jan. 23, 2014 asked for stricter safety measures for transporting crude oil by rail. One proposal by the NTSB would call for railroads to have careful route plannng for trains with hazardous materials and to avoid populated areas. Above, a line of tanker cars used to carry crude oil in the Mandan railyard on Thursday afternoon.

Backers: Report on rail risks boosts Keystone XL
By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press
January 24, 2014 Updated 11 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — A government warning about the dangers of increased use of trains to transport crude oil is giving a boost to supporters of the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline.

U.S. and Canadian accident investigators urged their governments Thursday to impose new safety rules on so-called oil trains, warning that a "major loss of life" could result from an accident involving the increasing use of trains to transport large amounts of crude oil.

Pipeline supporters said the unusual joint warning by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada highlights the need for Keystone XL, which would carry oil derived from tar sands in western Canada to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Oil started flowing Wednesday through a southern leg of the pipeline from Oklahoma to the Houston region.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said the yearslong review of Keystone has forced oil companies to look for alternatives to transport oil from the booming Bakken region of North Dakota and Montana to refineries in the U.S. and Canada. A planned spur connecting Keystone to the Bakken region would carry as much as 100,000 barrels of oil a day.