Report offers 27 ways to reduce risk of oil-train derailments in Pa.

A rail-safety expert recommended Monday that Pennsylvania step up track inspections and press railroads to increase the number of electronic trackside monitors to reduce the risk of oil-train derailments.

Allan M. Zarembski, a University of Delaware expert commissioned by Gov. Wolf to explore responses to a massive increase in oil-train traffic, made 27 recommendations on ways the state and railroads can reduce the risk of a catastrophic derailment.

Zarembski acknowledged that the state has limited leverage over federally regulated railroads, and that the U.S. Department of Transportation and the industry have already moved to upgrade safety standards, including new railcar rules.

"Yes, the railroads are doing many of the things that we say, but the question is, can we get the railroads to do it at the level where we think we can reduce the risk further?" Zarembski said during a media briefing Monday.

Wolf commissioned the report after expressing "grave concern" about the 60 to 70 oil trains that cross Pennsylvania each week to deliver crude oil to refineries around Philadelphia. In recent years, refiners have switched from overseas suppliers to U.S. shale-oil producers that transport crude by rail because of the lack of pipelines.

Thirteen of Zarembski's recommendations are aimed at railroads, calling on them to reduce speed in urban areas, to increase inspections of tracks, and to install more trackside devices to detect overheating equipment or mechanical problems that could lead to railcar failures.

Norfolk Southern and CSX, the railroads that move most crude oil in Pennsylvania, have adopted nationwide speed limits of 50 m.p.h. for oil trains. In April, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued an emergency order restricting trains to 40 m.p.h. in urban areas if they are transporting flammable liquids, including oil.

But Norfolk Southern and CSX have declined Wolf's call to adopt a 35-m.p.h. urban speed limit set by rival BNSF. Wolf's policy chief, John Hanger, on Monday called the railroads' response "disappointing."

Norfolk Southern defended its dedication to safety, saying it is spending $2.4 billion this year to maintain infrastructure on its 22-state system.

"Our actions and continued level of engagement within Pennsylvania demonstrate Norfolk Southern's strong commitment to safety and to the communities through which we operate," the company said in a statement.

Zarembski, a civil engineer who is director of the University of Delaware's railroad engineering and safety program, said he focused his recommendations on areas most likely to reduce accident risks. Most train derailments, he said, are caused by track failures and breakdowns of railcar wheels or axles.

He recommended that the state Public Utility Commission, which inspects tracks on behalf of the FRA, focus on crude-oil routes and sidings that see a significant number of oil tank cars.

He also recommended that the PUC, which has seven positions dedicated to rail safety, fill a vacant inspector's position in Southeastern Pennsylvania, though the agency says it has struggled to retain inspectors on a salary set in the mid-$40,000.

"The private sector and FRA have the ability to pay more, and we have seen inspectors move to federal or railroad positions because of higher salaries," said Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, the PUC's spokesman.

Mary Donahue, program organizer at Clean Water Action, an environmental group that has focused on oil-train activity, said the report's findings "support the necessity for further actions to prevent a catastrophic derailment."

Fred Millar, a hazardous-materials activist in Washington, said that he was unimpressed, and that the report "betrays an extraordinary complacency with the status quo."

215-854-2947@maykuth