New rail safety standards will require upgrade of oil cars in N.B.

Sweeping new safety rules for crude oil trains will require a significant upgrading of rail cars currently rumbling through New Brunswick.

Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt and U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said during a joint news conference in Washington Friday that the entire North America fleet of rail cars used to carry oil will have to be replaced or retrofitted to better withstand the impact of a derailment.

"Today we join you in putting in place standards to significantly improve the transportation of flammable materials, including crude," said Foxx.

The announcement has significant implications in New Brunswick, where hundreds of crude oil rail cars enter the province weekly on their way to the Irving Oil refinery in Saint John.

Last year, Irving Oil announced it was voluntarily banning the use of crude oil rail cars built prior to 2011 in a bid to increase the safety of shipments into New Brunswick.

Rail cars meant to carry crude oil that were built after October, 2011 are considered to be safer than earlier models, but not safe enough, according to new rules.

Raitt said even newer, more robust tank cars are needed and said current models would have to be retired or retrofitted to new standards over the next 10 years.

Her department estimated that 35,000 rail cars will have to be altered at an estimated cost of more than $543 million.

Raitt said respect for those killed in the 2013 Lac-Mégantic rail disaster in Quebec and the safety of those who live near rail lines that carry crude oil demanded significant action.

"I believe that we truly have to act to honour those who died and honour those who were injured and to show to that community and all communities that safety is our most important priority in transportation."

Forty-seven people were killed and 2,000 were forced from their homes in Lac-Mégantic on July 6, 2013 when 72 tank cars carrying crude oil to New Brunswick derailed.

About six million litres of oil spilled and ignited in a series of massive explosions that destroyed much of the community's central district.

In March, Irving Oil agreed to pay $75 million into a compensation fund as a result of the accident.