Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief, Railway Age Magazine; December 5, 2017
The U.S. Department of Transportation on Dec. 4 repealed a 2015 Federal Railroad Administration rulemaking requiring freight railroads to employ electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes on certain trains hauling hazardous flammable commodities such as ethanol and crude oil in DOT-117 tank cars.
DOT’s ECP mandate was part of its May 2015 rulemaking on DOT-117 tank cars. Trains meeting the definition of a “HHFUT” (high-hazard flammable unit train), defined as “a single train with 70 or more tank cars loaded with Class 3 flammable liquids,” with at least one tank car with Packing Group I materials, must be operated with an ECP braking system by Jan. 1, 2021, or reduce maximum speed to 30 mph. All other HHFUTs must have ECP braking systems installed after 2023. The DOT claimed ECP braking was more effective in emergency situations.
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