Interesting article. The EU as part of their trade agreement with the United States are going to dramatically increase LNG purchases from the United States. Should be interesting to see how this developes if it does develop…
Yikes. (What could possibly go wrong? [:S])
So I won’t be called a NIMBY … I am firmly opposed to this happening anywhere, period.
Why? There’s far less hazard transporting this stuff than either undegassed Bakken crude or a BLEVE hazard like LPG. Arguably less than ethanol or gasoline.
Almost zero risk of sustained immediate fire even with impact damage; pool fires get hot but it takes them a while to get there and little if any critical-mixture hazard even then.
Combine this with the great advances in cryoinsulation in the last few years.
I have little hesitation in saying LNG is safer in a tank train than it is in OTR trailers … where it has been legal many years. High cost and interesting maintenance issues trying to compete with pipelines over any but short distance.
Now, if you wanted to ban CNG transport by rail, I’d be right behind ya in the picket line. THAT stuff is dangerous as hell in my opinion.
LNG is already being transported around the world - just not on railroads.
LNG as stated in the article is at a temperature below minus 300 degrees. Propane or other gases at atmospheric presure are at MUCH greater risk of catching fire or exploding.
The railroads routinely transport far more dangerous things than liquid or gaseous fuels. A few tank cars of chlorine or anhydrous ammonia have as much killing potential as a entire trainload of LNG/LPG/gasoline/crude oil.
CN now runs unit trains of propane (LPG) from the Edmonton area to Prince Rupert several times a week. This service started earlier this year, after a export terminal was completed at the port of Prince Rupert. They run as symbols U761 (loads) and U760 (empties).
There is also a daily ‘bomb train’ (M314, westbound counterpart M313) from Scotford (northeast of Edmonton) to Winnipeg. It normally has lots of LPG and anhydrous ammonia, along with all sorts of other toxic ‘goodies’ from Alberta’s industrial heartland.
I’m sure all the other Class I’s have some trains that are normally composed mainly of dangerous goods.
What happens if a car of LNG has a compressor go out?
I imagine it would vent through a safety valve if the pressure rises too high.
There are already a fair number of insulated tank cars running around that carry cryongenically liquified gases like argon and carbon dioxide. If the pressures rises to high while in transit they will vent, which can lead to the odd sight of a thick layer of frost on the outside of the car on a hot summer day.
Coming to a town near you:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_East_Ohio_Gas_explosion
It would vent out as a gas-right? Does anybody know if the bad smell is put in before transport?
The tank cars are clearly marked as being “non-odourized”.
Natural gas is lighter than air, so a small leak should rise up and dissipate. Propane is heavier than air, and will stay close to the ground.
Propane vehicles are not allowed in underground parking garages for that reason (such conversions used to be quite common out here, mostly older farm trucks).
A friend’s mom would likely have died in that incident had she been a block closer. The root cause of that disaster was tank construction inappropriate for cryogenic liquids along with the spilled LNG pouring into the storm sewer system. Having said that, I’d be a lot more concerned about a trainload of LPG. Heck, a carload of ammonium nitrate can make a MOAB look like a forecracker by comparison.
I’d also suspect that the insulation could provide a modicum of puncture resistance.
Are the locomotives equipped with any type of survival gear in case of accidents? Do the crews get any special training (no pun intended) and/or hazard pay?
There’s a first aid kit. And a stretcher, which is sometimes kept on top of the fuel tank.
Special training? Hazard pay? Are you kidding? We get some basic dangerous goods transportation instructions in rules class, but that’s about it.
The only special safety gear I know of on CN and CP are the breathing apparatuses issued to crews running through long tunnels. CN’s ex-BC Rail Tumbler Sub (not ventilated) and CP’s two tunnels in Rogers Pass come to mind.
Living in Maine, I saw lots of coverage of the Lac Megantic disaster.
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. No, that was not LNG; I realize that.
It just seems risky to me. But I claim no special knowledge of this.
Well, of course it’s risky. If you look at the LNG ship video you will hear the somewhat intended-to-shock comparison of a full load of LNG to ‘55 nuclear bombs’ and while this is certainly specious with regard to prompt detonation of the kind seen at Megantic, a similar catastrophic derailment of LNG tanks might easily start a pool fire of enormous proportions and extended heat release. The point is that it would be slow, even slower than one of Wells’ canadum bombs, and just as escapable, and reasonably prompt firefighting attention to small sources of escaping LNG will probably starve any developing fire short of that (ice is a structural material at LNG temperature).
The issue to me is that if you want a high-energy-density fuel for transport, this is about the safest you can get. You’ll see all sorts of people who should know better trying to scare by saying LNG is a BLEVE hazard, when 10 minutes of research will establish conclusively that almost nothing could be farther from the truth.
It’s all the homeowners fault! If they didn’t want to be incinerated in their sleep they should NEVER have bought a house next to the railroad tracks. [4:-)]
Not sure what you are imbibing but LNG is certainly a BLEVE hazard. BLEVE - Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion. Since it boils at around -300F it is indeed a BLEVE hazard. A BLEVE requires only a boiling liquid to produce enough pressure to cause the containing vessel to fail. It does not have to be a flammable liquid. A locomotive boiler explosion is a BLEVE. When I taught firefighting we had a video of such a BLEVE. A vessel heated over a fire explodes and a shockwave travels about 50 yards then the whole circle abruptly is covered in a cloud of vapor. What produced this deady blast? 5 gallons of water in a beer keg.
Being incinerated by the pipeline buried in the ROW as in San Berdoo in 1989?
Train didn’t do that; nincompoop banging around with a backhoe after being advised to be careful did it.
Who puts gasoline in a pressurized pipeline under a residential area in the first place?