NTSB: Derailment shows need for use of safer rail tank cars
A broken rail, inadequate track maintenance and inspection, and inadequate federal oversight led to the March 10, 2017, derailment of a Union Pacific Railroad ethanol train near Graettinger, Iowa, according to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report released Tuesday. (NTSB photo shown above.)
The agency also said in its report the continued use of US Department of Transportation Specification 111 tank rail tank cars in ethanol service, instead of the more robust DOT-117 tank cars, contributed to the severity of the accident in which about 322,000 gallons of undenatured ethanol was released, fueling a post-accident fire that burned for more than 36 hours. No one was injured in the accident that forced the evacuation of three nearby homes and caused an estimated $4 million in damage including the destruction of 400-feet of railroad track and a 152-foot railroad bridge.