New regulations aimed at preventing further oil train explosions in the US are set to be introduced by next year, American transport chiefs have revealed.
A spate of recent disasters involving derailed oil transporters has increased focus on the safety of moving large amounts of crude between US refineries via rail lines.
Dozens of people were killed after an oil car explosion in Quebec last summer flattened a town centre, while a massive derailment in North Dakota over the New Year holiday saw hundreds evacuated following explosions.
Earlier this week the US National Transportation Safety Board warned that 18 of the 20 cars in the North Dakota crash had been punctured, with concerns raised about the number of older tanks being used for transportation.
Now the country’s department of transportation is to introduce new legislation aimed at forcing oil firms to use stronger oil cars to shift crude around the country.
The laws will be proposed later this year and open to public comments until early 2015 before being brought into law, the department said.