Improve safety but let oil trains roll through Oregon

Rapid Response: Do oil trains belong in the Columbia Gorge?

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Broken bolts in the railroad track caused the frightening oil train derailment in the Columbia River Gorge. Better brakes and other improvements would have made the train derailment less severe.

Those are among the Federal Railroad Administration’s preliminary findings into the June 3 derailment, in which a Union Pacific train spilled oil and caught fire near the town of Mosier.

Union Pacific, which is to blame for the derailment, now seems overly eager to resume sending oil trains through the Gorge.

But people have it wrong when they cite the Gorge’s unique environment as a rationale to make it permanently off-limits to oil trains, such as this one with 94 cars carrying Bakken crude oil from New Town, North Dakota, to Tacoma, Washington.

Scary, hazardous materials travel every day on trains and trucks along the interstate 84 and 5 corridors. Many such trains go through Salem’s core, past Willamette University and the Capitol Mall area. Certainly the protection of urban residents and property is as important as protection of the rural environment and the rural residents.

The greater issue is that Oregon and especially the federal government must insist on much higher standards for:

•Track maintenance;

•Structural improvements in rail cars carrying oil or other hazardous materials; and

•Training and equipping of emergency responders.

If people dislike oil trains, consider the alternatives: pipelines or multiple shipments by truck. In much of America, well-built and -operated pipelines are the best solution. But given the lack of sufficient pipelines in the Pacific Northwest, trains are the best alternative.

As for ending the world’s reliance on oil, and thus the need to ship oil, that is a worthy goal but one that will not happen soon. Even then, companies and governments will continue shipping other hazardous materials.

Safe, secure shipping always will be needed, regardless of the route or cargo. The government must ensure that safety.