We need to fast track the elimination of dangerous rail cars: councillor

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NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS1130) – After a series of recent derailments stateside, the National Transportation Safety Board is recommending retrofits for certain rail cars carrying oil and other flammable liquids.

New Westminster Councillor Chuck Puchmayr, who is also a part of a cross border safety group known as Safe Energy Leadership Alliance lobbying both federal governments, wants some these tanks known as DOT 111’s off the rails and out of communities.

“We’re recommending immediately [to] phase those out and starting immediately doesn’t allow them to be used to carry diluted bitumen or crude oil,” he explains. “There’s a directive to upgrade them and do safety renovations on them to make them safe but we think they should not haul volatile materials immediately.”

He believes companies should also work on having enough insurance in case of an accident as well as increasing communication with local communities.

Delta Mayor Lois Jackson has safety concerns about how materials are being transported on both sides of the border.

“I think it’s very important that both Canada and the United States are on the same page in terms of their requirements from the rail companies because a lot of those cars go back and forth across the border and we just want to make sure we have the safest system possible.”

After the Lac Megantic disaster, she says the corporation of Delta contacted all the rail companies to better understand how they operate.

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