As Canadian pipeline plans falter, more oil is moving by rail — prompting familiar fears

The Washington Post reported, “For years, Canadians have heard a common refrain: If a new pipeline doesn’t materialize to get their oil to market, the oil will just travel a different way — by rail.

It’s a trade-off that can inspire fear in a country where an oil-by-rail disaster killed 47 people just five years ago. Environmentalists have sometimes described the rail option as a threat or “boogeyman” looming over the pipeline debate.

But now the prediction appears to be coming true, as the volume of oil traveling by rail out of Canada — to the United States — has surged in the past few months as the country’s latest pipeline project foundered.”

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As Canadian pipeline plans falter, more oil is moving by rail — prompting familiar fears, Selena Ross, The Washington Post