Union Pacfic agrees to changes, in wake of Mosier oil train disaster
BILLINGS, Mont. The nation's largest freight railroad has agreed to more thorough inspections and maintenance improvements after a fiery oil train derailment in Oregon and the discovery of more than 800 potential safety violations across its sprawling network.
Details on the agreement between the Federal Railroad Administration and Union Pacific Railroad were obtained by The Associated Press.
Sixteen tank cars from a Union Pacific train hauling North Dakota crude through the Columbia River Gorge derailed in early June along a curve in the tracks near Mosier, Oregon. The accident sparked a massive fire that burned for 14 hours and prompted the evacuation of nearby areas.
No one was injured. But federal officials said the railroad wasn't following its own inspection rules to ensure the track was safe. A closer examination of the tracks would have caught a series of broken bolts that allowed the rails to move too far apart where the accident occurred, officials said.
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