The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its 2015 list of "most wanted" safety improvements in mid January. The list included four new issues and three issues related to the rail industry. Improved rail tank car safety was added to the 2015 list because NTSB said, with more crude oil and ethanol being moved by rail, making sure it moves as safely as possible is more important than ever. NTSB said, "DOT-111 tank cars are the most common rail tank car in use. The NTSB has identified a number of vulnerabilities in DOT-111 tank car design with respect to tank heads, shells and fittings. These vulnerabilities create the risk that, in an accident, hazardous materials could be released and, in the case of flammable liquids such as crude oil and ethanol, could ignite and cause catastrophic damage." Implementation of positive train control (PTC) remained on the 2015 list. The federal mandate requiring the technology's implementation has a deadline of Dec. 31, 2015.
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