Pipeline Observer
At 7:15 this morning, yet another crude oil train erupted into an inferno, this time near a small town in central North Dakota. As these wildly dangerous trains continue to explode—at least 10 in the last two years—it’s become challenging to keep track of them all. So, for the record, we’ve assembled here a pictorial timeline of North America’s bomb trains.
Last week, the Obama administration adopted new regulations that will phase out many of the most hazardous tank cars over the next five to six years. The regulations also substantially reduce public oversight of train movements and industry behavior.
We will update this post as new explosions occur.
Money, Mississippi: April 30, 2017
Mosier, Oregon: June 3, 2016
Mosier Derailment by Columbia Riverkeeper (Used with permission.)
Heimdal, North Dakota: May 6, 2015
Gogama, Ontario: March 7, 2015
Close up overhead view of derailed ruptured tank cars on fire in Ontario, Canada (March 7, 2015) by Transportation Safety Board of Canada (license) (Used with permission.)
Galena, Illinois: March 5, 2015
Mount Carbon, West Virginia: February 16, 2015
Kanawha River, West Virginia, Crude Oil Derailment by Paul Corbit Brown (Used with permission.)
Timmins, Ontario: February 16, 2015
80 km south of Timmins, Ontario, Oil Train Derailment by Transportation Safety Board of Canada (license) (Used with permission.)
Lynchburg, Virginia: April 30, 2014
Plaster Rock, New Brunswick: January 8, 2014
Derailed CN rail cars near Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, Canada by Transportation Safety Board of Canada (license) (Used with permission.)
Casselton, North Dakota: December 30, 2013
Destroyed Oil Tank Cars In North Dakota Derailment by Ann Arbor Miller/Greenpeace (license) (Used with permission.)
Aliceville, Alabama: November 8, 2013
Oil train derailment and river contamination, Aliceville, AL (2). by John L. Wathen (Used with permission.)
Lac-Mégantic, Quebec: July 6, 2013
Lac-Mégantic Derailment by TSBCanada (All rights reserved, used with permission.)