Probabilistic analysis of the release of liquefied natural gas (LNG) tenders due to freight-train derailments

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has emerged as a possible alternative fuel for freight railroads in the United States, due to the availability of cheap domestic natural gas and continued pursuit of environmental and energy sustainability. A safety concern regarding the deployment of LNG-powered trains is the risk of breaching the LNG tender car (a special type of hazardous materials car that stores fuel for adjacent locomotives) in a train accident. When a train is derailed, an LNG tender car might be derailed or damaged, causing a release and possible fire. This paper describes the first study that focuses on modeling the probability of an LNG tender car release incident due to a freight train derailment on a mainline. The model accounts for a number of factors such as FRA track class, method of operation, annual traffic density level, train length, the point of derailment, accident speed, the position(s) of the LNG tender(s) in a train, and LNG tender car design. The model can be applied to any specified route or network with LNG-fueled trains. The implementation of the model can be undertaken by the railroad industry to develop proactive risk management solutions when using LNG as an alternative railroad fuel.