- The Trump administration said Thursday it was withdrawing a proposal for freight trains to have at least two crew members, nullifying a safety measure drafted under President Barack Obama in response to explosions of crude oil trains in the U.S. and Canada. A review of accident data did not support the notion that having one crew member is less safe than multi-person crews, Department of Transportation officials said. The 2016 proposal followed oil train derailments including a runaway oil train in 2013 that derailed, exploded and killed 47 people while levelling much of the town of Lac Megantic, Canada. Other derailments of trains carrying oil and ethanol have occurred in North Dakota, Oregon, Montana, Illinois, Virginia and other states. Most trains currently operate with at least two crew members but without a government regulation there’s no guarantee that would continue indefinitely.

Source: thestar May 24, 2019 00:00 UTC