The rail industry in North America is justifiably proud that it provides the safest mode of transportation for hazardous materials. The record specific to bulk liquid shipments shows significant and measurable improvements in safety over the last three decades. Not content to rest on its laurels, the tank car industry continues to search for ways to improve the performance of cars during normal operations as well as under unplanned shipment interruptions.

Clearly, the high level of cooperation among shippers, railroads, tank car manufacturers, and government agencies has been an important factor in achieving a continual improvement in shipment safety. We all have long shared a strong incentive to eliminate accidental product releases. Beginning in 1970, the Railway Supply Institute’s Committee on Tank Cars (RSI-CTC) and the Association of American Railroads (AAR) addressed this common concern by initiating the Tank Car Safety Project. The ensuing research and test project was a joint venture between major tank car suppliers acting through the RSI, and the railroads represented by the AAR. The objective then and now is continuous tank car safety improvement through the collection and analysis of accident data, destructive testing, and on-going design improvement.

RSI and AAR members have shared the costs of administering the Project and all parties share and study the outcome of issues investigated. As a direct result of these safety investigations, tank car owners have invested over a half billion dollars to implement design improvements for new car construction as well as for modifications to their existing fleets.

The success of the Tank Car Safety Project can be measured. Since 1980, there has been a 63% reduction in the number of releases per 1,000 hazmat carloads; and during 2001, only about 1% of all train accidents resulted in the release of any hazardous materials.

Today, the Project’s database continues to play a critical role in identifying tank car safety

issues, developing solutions, and evaluating their effectiveness. This database is one of the most detailed and useful safety databases for any transportation mode. Its data is used to analyze and validate proposed rules and regulations and it provides a quantitative analysis of potential benefits of any proposed changes in industry standards and practices.  This helps the industry ensure that investment dollars are spent in a way that provides maximum safety benefits.

Further cooperation came about when the American Chemistry Council (ACC), joined forces with RS  and AAR to form the Inter-Industry Task Force (IITF) in 1988. This collaborative effort further improved safety by analyzing entire logistical systems involved in moving hazardous materials by rail. The direct result was improved loading and unloading practices at shipper locations, definitive railroad operating practices, and intensified standards for tank car design and maintenance.

Separately, the railroads, RSI, ACC, the Chlorine Institute, the American Petroleum Institute, and individual shippers cooperate in tracking non-accident releases (NARs). NAR data is assigned to shipper, railroad and car owner. Summaries are provided as a tool for each company to identify and solve operational problems and to facilitate system improvements within their own areas control. A standing task force is in place to review all data, to share techniques and to

develop new procedures to further reduce and even eliminate NARs as a source of environmental concern.

Importantly, the relationships built while cooperating on the Tank Car Safety Project, the IITF and NAR work have also served the industry well since September 11, 2001. The RSI-CTC helped AAR develop their portion of the national security plan that pertains to hazmat shipment.  AAR, in turn, assisted shipper associations to develop security precautions that pick up at their member companies’ plant gates.  Union Tank Car Company and the other RSI-CTC companies continue to work with shippers to develop car designs, features, and services to improve the security of tank car shipments.

The RSI-CTC history is rich with examples of cooperation with the railroads, shipper associations and government agencies to continuously improve the safety of hazmat shipments over our rail system. Even though tank cars already offer the safest mode for transporting hazardous materials, the record shows that we are continuing to advance their performance, not only to satisfy the needs of our shipper-customers, but also for the benefit and security of the communities that host our facilities and the right-of-way where our cars operate.