Road, railway or inland waterway transport of dangerous goods present a significant risk of accidents. Transport operators believe that measures must be adopted to make sure that this transport is carried out in the best safety conditions possible and the transport of dangerous goods on railways should be encouraged to a greater extent.
The latest legislative document, Directive 68/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council stipulates that for establishing a common regime covering all aspects of the domestic transport of dangerous goods, Directives 94/55/EC and 96/49/EC should be replaced by a single directive that would also include provisions on the inland waterways. Every member state should preserve its right to regulate or prohibit the transport of dangerous goods on own territory, from other reasons but safety, such as on grounds of national security or environment protection.
Given that transport risks may be considerably increased by the inherent dangers of hazardous goods (dangers of fire, explosion, and toxic emissions) the safety and security aspects are essential. Seen from these aspects, the competitive advantages of rail are considerable overall over long distances. Goods transported by road can usually be transported by rail.
The measures to be taken for encouraging and supporting the transport of goods on rails refer to the telematic monitoring of wagon and brake conditions, telematic monitoring of locations, expansion/development of automatic train control (ATC) into railway yards and station areas – especially at stations where large volumes of dangerous goods pass through.
“Customers and operators as well as concerned members of the public and politicians, should ensure that Government put in place a safety policy that encourages the movement of freight by rail”, declared for Railway Pro, Lord Tony Berkeley, President of Rail Freight Group.
Also, experts believe clear communication paths are necessary, as well as information flow, responsible contact persons, especially for procedures in the event of an accident. Information systems are extremely important, for example common information system for wagon lists and loading information, including information from all traffic providers.
Regulations Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail includes within the definition of temporary storage, stops made necessary by the conditions of carriage as well as periods involved in order to change the mode or means of transport – transhipment as well as stops necessitated by the circumstances of transport. This also includes locations where wagons are loaded or unloaded, such as oil terminals or container handling facilities.
“Dangerous goods are generally much more safely transported by rail than road, but many governments impose and enforce very strict and expensive controls on the movement of dangerous goods by rail, whilst ignoring many safety issues involving movement by road until there is an accident”, Lord Tony Berkeley.
by Elena Ilie
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