"US Sets New Brake Rule for Oil Trains, Two Years After Lac-Megantic"

"Over two years after a runaway freight train derailed, exploded and destroyed much of the small town of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, killing 47, the Obama administration has issued new rules governing breaking procedures for tanker cars carrying volatile cargo.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) said Wednesday that two qualified railroad workers must set the handbrakes and check other safety equipment on cars carrying dangerous liquids, like crude oil or ethanol, when trains over 20-cars long are left unattended.

But for environmentalists and train safety advocates, government moves seemed almost absurdly little and inexplicably late."

Gregg Levine reports for Aljazeera America July 30, 2015.