Why is Canada phasing out the DOT-111 rail cars early?

Come November, oiltransported in Canada by rail will be carried in cars that are billed assturdier and safer than their predecessors.

Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced Monday that the DOT-111 cars, which were involved in the 2013Lac-Mgantic disaster,will be phased out ahead of schedule.

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Garneaureiterated many times that the reason behind the accelerated timetable was a commitment to rail safety followingthe derailment and explosion that killed 47 people.

ButMalcomCairns, an Ottawa-based rail expert, pointed out that in the last 18 months, there has been a significant drop in the price of oil.

That led to shale producers halting production.Rail lines had beenmaking up for the overworked pipelines, but that's no so much the case anymore.

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"The amount of crude oil being moved by rail now has diminished quite considerably. As a consequence, obviously, that means that there need to be fewer tank cars actually moving oil at this time," he said.

JohnByrne, vice chairmanof the U.S.-basedRailway Supply Institute'scommittee on tank cars, said the Canadian government is likely paying attention to the decline in volume, which would explainthe timing.

"It makes sense now because there's little risk of affecting commerce," he said.

New cars supposed to better withstand heat, damage

The Transportation Safety Boardissued a report detailingsafety issues with the DOT-111 cars in early 2014, pointing out that it has been highlighting the vulnerability of the cars formore than 20years.

American and Canadian authorities have bothidentified issues with the cars, including:

• The containers of the tank cars are typically made with 7/16-inch-thick steel, which makes them more vulnerable to damage than thicker steel.
• The legacy cars, generally built before 2010,don't all have thermal protection, which manages the transfer of heat into the tank in case of fire. The hotter it gets, the more likely the tanker will eitherexplodeor that the steel will melt, releasing the contents.
• On some DOT-111s,the heatshield, which protects each end of the car, only goes up halfway.
• The valves on top of the cars need stronger protection to make them less susceptible to damageif the car rolls over.

The federal government unveiled the rail cars they're hoping will become the new standard for transporting flammable liquidsin May 2015.

Dubbed the TC-117 in Canada (DOT-117 in the U.S.), these cars have better thermal protection and are supposed to withstand puncture and other damage better than their predecessors, according to Byrne.

While the new cars represent a significant improvement over the DOT-111s, it's factors such as rail infrastructure and human error that causederailments, not necessarily the type of cars transporting the goods, Byrne said.

"None of the things they're doing with the tank car improvements will reduce derailments. They will reduce the severity of the derailments."

• Stronger tanker cars not the only answer, expert says