Oil is generally transported in “unit trains” which are train cars carrying all of the same cargo and stretching about a mile long. The North Rail Yard has the capacity to unload up to four of these “unit trains” a day. However, all of the “unit trains” are not always carrying oil, they also carry liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), ethanol, molten sulfur and a variety of other substances.
There are significant risks from oil transport by rail. The original DOT-111 rail cars were originally built to carry corn syrup and not equipped to transit volatile substances. If they crash or derail it is very easy for them to puncture and ignite followed by explosion. The rail cars have earned the unfortunate nickname of “Pepsi-can cars”. The industry developed newer cars, CPC-1232 with modest improvements to design but in the wake of several other crashes it has been confirmed that they are not an adequate response to the threat oil trains pose. (more technical information about oil train car types safety regulations resources) There have been more derailments and crude oil spills by rail after 2013 across North America than previously recorded in history. Two such derailments took place in Philadelphia in January 2014 over the Schuylkill River Expressway and February 2015. In June of 2013 the nation was alerted to the risks of crude by rail when a crash and explosion incinerated 15 acres of downtown Lac Megantic in Quebec, Canada resulting in 47 fatalities.
