As transportation of oil and gas by rail increases, a new study by the Fraser Institute concludes that this method of shipping is much riskier than by pipeline.
The Canadian think-tank compiled data from the Transportation Safety Board and Transport Canada and found that the rate of incidents or accidents per millionbarrels of oil transported was 4.5 times higher for rail than it was for pipelines between 2003 and 2013.
The study acknowledges that during this decade there were more incidents with pipelines than rail — 1,226 pipeline incidents compared with 127 for rail — but says pipelines move 15 times more petroleum than railways — and are safer when volume is taken into consideration.
TIFFANY CRAWFORD – VANCOUVER SUN – AUGUST 13, 2015.