After four tank cars full of crude oil from a derailed train incinerated a small Quebec town, killing at least five, the debate over rail versus pipeline for oil transport intensifies.

"OTTAWA -- The police said on Sunday that at least five people had died and 40 were missing after runaway railroad tank cars filled with oil derailed and exploded in a small Quebec town."

"'We know there will be more deaths,' Lt. Michel Brunet of Quebec’s provincial police told reporters in Lac-Mégantic, where the fires continued to burn on Sunday.

The derailment and explosions, which took place around 1:15 a.m. on Saturday, underscored a debate in the effort to transport North America’s oil across long distances: is it safer and less environmentally destructive to move huge quantities of crude oil by train or by pipeline?

Visiting the town on Sunday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper compared it to a 'war zone.'"

Ian Austen reports for the New York Times July 7, 2013. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"40 Missing in Deadly Canada Oil Train Crash" (AP) [3]

"Pitting Rail Against Keystone XL Overlooks Messy Economic Reality" (EnergyWire) [4]

"Driverless Crude Oil Train Explodes in Quebec Town" (ENS) [5]

"Does Canada Train Blast Show Danger of Oil Transport in US?" (Christian Science Monitor) [6]

"Train Derailment Spills Oil in Quebec. Will It Affect Maine?" (Christian Science Monitor) [7]

"Crude Oil Transport Revitalized Rail Company at Centre of Disaster" (Toronto Globe and Mail) [8]

"Black Box Recovered in Fatal Quebec Oil Train Explosion" (Bloomberg) [9]

"At Least Five Dead In Lac-Mégantic Explosion" (Montreal Gazette) [10]

"Crude by Rail" (Association of American Railroads) [11]

"Quebec Disaster Spurs Rail-Versus-Pipelines Debate on Oil" (Bloomberg) [12]

"Analysis: Oil-by-Train May Not Be Substitute for Keystone Pipeline" (Reuters: 4/18/13) [13]

"Killing Keystone Seen as Risking More Oil Spills by Rail" (Reuters: 4/9/13) [14]

"Deadly Train Derailment Fuels Crude-by-Rail Concerns" (Wall St. Journal) [15]