Oil Trains Hide in Plain Sight

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Tue Jan 20, 2015, 03:02 PM - Edit history (5)

Full disclosure: I own shares of rail stocks, including stock in Norfolk Southern. I am not posting this thread out of any financial interest, but because, while clearing out newspapers, I saw some LTTEs about this article in the Monday, December 15, 2014, print edition of The Wall Street Journal.

Oil Trains Hide in Plain Sight

Business
Rail Industry’s Secret: Volatile Crude Routes Often Kept From Cities and Towns
By Russell Gold
@russellgold
[e-mail]
or
[e-mail]

Dec. 3, 2014 10:33 p.m. ET

NEWARK, Del.—Early last year, a new kind of pipeline full of volatile oil appeared in this college town, halfway between Philadelphia and Baltimore. ... If it had been a traditional pipeline, there would have been government hearings and environmental reviews. There would be markers or signs along the line’s route and instructions for nearby residents on how to react in an emergency. A detailed plan for responding to a spill would be on file with the federal government.

None of that happened here in Newark. In fact, nobody initially notified the city’s fire chief about the new line, which can carry more than a hundred thousand barrels of oil a day along Amtrak’s busiest passenger-rail corridor.

This was possible because the oil here is transported by a virtual pipeline: mile-long strings of railroad tanker cars that travel from North Dakota to a refinery in Delaware. In Newark, the cars are especially easy to spot as they often sit for hours on tracks 10 feet away from passing passenger trains, waiting for an opening at the nearby PBF Energy Inc. plant.

While the existence of this virtual pipeline is obvious to its neighbors—trains are visible from homes, the local commuter rail station, a park and a popular jogging trail—it is officially secret. Delaware Safety and Homeland Security officials contend that publicizing any information about the oil trains parked there would “reveal the State’s vulnerability to terrorist attacks,” according to a letter to The Wall Street Journal.



A Norfolk Southern Corp. train in a refinery in Delaware, waiting to unload its cargo of crude oil from North Dakota. Russell Gold/The Wall Street Journal

There's an interactive map with this lengthy article that is worth a look:

Crude Oil by Rail

Railroads have become virtual pipelines carrying crude from North Dakota to the East, West and Gulf Coasts. This map shows the weekly average number of crude oil trains from the Bakken Shale in North Dakota that pass through each county.

Note: The Wall Street Journal was able to infer some routes through states that did not provide data based on information from the railroad companies and data provided by neighboring states.

Tennesee did not disclose data. An earlier version of this graphic incorrectly color-coded districts in this state. (Dec. 4, 2014)

Source: State Emergency Response Commissions

Here are those letters to the editor:

We Must Transport Our Shale-Oil Bounty With Safety

Regarding secrecy, this comment mirrors my thoughts:

ROBERT MEYER
Dec 4, 2014

"that these trains were carrying “highly volatile cargo” that could be a target for terrorists." Hold on here. Something doesn't smell right.

The idea that hazardous train traffic or oil/gas pipeline locations have to be kept secret flies in the face of reality. The locations of oil/chemical production and refinery/terminal are well known to the bad boys. All of the oil/gas transport pipelines are well marked and easy to follow. There are 'Train Spotting' organizations that watch the rails all day, every day and blog about what they see.

So, why the secrecy? Why the resistance to providing the information? Is it proprietary business secrecy? After all, none of the pipelines or rail freight companies want their competition to know just what they are doing, when, or how much. That kind of information might be used for competitive advantage.

There is something about the 'National Security' claim that just doesn't smell right.

All you need to listen to railroad radio traffic is an entry-level analog scanner from Radio Shack. The cheapest ones will work just fine.

One day about a year or so ago, I was at the Long Bridge Park in Arlington County, Virginia, to watch some trains. This is also a good place for plane spotting if planes are coming into National Airport from the north, as you get to see the planes' liveries. A plane spotter was there too. I just had an analog Bearcat SC-180 scanner programmed with railroad frequencies and some aircraft frequencies appropriate for activity at KDCA and KADW. The plane spotter, a student at a university in DC, had a smart phone. He a member of some plane spotters' group, and he was receiving fifteen minutes' warning about interesting aircraft headed into National Airport. The neatest plane he and I saw that day was an American Airlines Astrojet. There might be more than one, but I'm no expert.

[woodsprite]

1. Newark doesn't even have the fire equipment necessary to deal with an emergency.

I'm familiar with what's needed for oil fires because my father was a fire protection engineer. I live within 2 miles of those tracks in Newark, and work within 1 mile. My kids attend schools within a 2 mile radius of those tracks. There are homes, daycares, schools, etc. that back directly up to those tracks.

I attended a town meeting in the spring where I stood up and asked the Aetna fire chief, reps from Norfolk Southern, a Delaware transportation safety rep, and a Delaware City refinery rep. I asked them if Newark had the equipment and supplies to address a fire in the event of a leak, etc. They don't, and don't see the need to spend the money. They said they'll call down to Delaware City and have it sent up if that event ever occurs.

I have a friend who was a fire chief for a company in Philly during a large fire where they used high expansion foam. They had to get extra supplies from Lionville/Exton area (where Chubb National Foam is located) and he said it took 3-4 hours -- BUT they were supplies in addition to what they already had. Newark has nothing - even to start. There is a small portable field unit that could be used to mix the foam and water, that wouldn't cost as much as having a dedicated fire truck, but they'd still need to have containers of foam concentrate on hand. Nope! No plans to stock anything. Apparently they think that the 'hour+' trip from Delaware City is good enough.

They tried to tell me that those cars are empty, but unless they've been washed out, those are cars that are full of fumes - which are even more volatile than a fully loaded tanker. My brother said they've been cautioned about empty cars and fumes and he works for Norfolk Southern.

[elleng]

2. Bad news for all of us,

and thanks for the pics. Nothing like deregulation!