US Department of Transportation’s rail tank survey

US Department of Transportation’s rail tank survey


The US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics has published its report of the composition of rail tank cars from 2013 to 2016.

Section 7308 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act requires the US DOT to assemble and collect data on rail tank cars transporting Class 3 flammable liquids to track the progress in upgrading the rail tank car fleet to new safety requirements and to provide an annual status report to Congress.

R - DOT

The report has found that between 2013 and 2016, the number of rail tank cars carrying Class 3 flammable liquids has varied. There are numerous factors that determine whether a tank car will be used to actively transport Class 3 flammable liquids. Among these factors are the demand for each Class 3 flammable liquid and pipeline availability for transporting crude oil. In addition, some tank cars can carry multiple flammable liquids and will change their cargoes throughout the course of the year based on need. The annual percentage of rail tank cars that carry multiple liquid types in one year increased from about 9% to 14% between 2013 and 2016.

The total fleet of rail tank cars that carry Class 3 flammable liquids increased from 2013 to 2015 and then decreased in 2016. There were 78,512 rail tank cars in this service in 2013, rising to 92,358 by 2015. However, in 2016 the fleet that actively carries Class 3 flammable liquids shrank to 81,027.

Between 2013 and 2016 the composition of the fleet changed. The DOT-117s, both new and retrofitted, grew from zero to 7,181 tank cars between 2013 and 2016 representing 9% of the fleet. The largest percentage of tank cars in this service remains the non-jacketed DOT-111 rail tank cars. However, their share of the fleet has dropped by nearly 14%, from 66% in 2013 to 53% of the 2016 fleet, a decrease of nearly 10,000 rail tank cars.

Also during this time, the jacketed CPC-1232 rail tank cars increased in numbers as well as percentage of the fleet as did the other rail tank cars, including specifications of DOT-105, DOT-112, DOT-114, DOT115, DOT-120, and DOT-211. It is expected that by the end of the transition period in 2029, all Class 3 flammable liquids will be carried in rail tank cars that meet or exceed the DOT-117 or DOT-117R specification.

Click here for in depth results from the survey.

9th Oct 2017

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