Midwest will solicit input from the Midwestern states.
Mode and Route Selection Mode: Selection of the shipping mode is the responsibility of the shipper. Safety should be the primary consideration in evaluating and selecting a mode. The Midwestern states recommend that rail shipments should take place using dedicated trains, not general freight service. Route: Shippers should identify the routes for highway and rail shipments in consultation with the potentially affected states. The DOT regulations for highway route selection can be found in 49 CFR 397 Subpart D – “Routing of Class 7 (Radioactive) Materials”. Regulations for rail route selection can be found in 49 CFR 172.820 – “Additional planning requirements for transportation by rail”. Shippers must follow these regulations when selecting routes for shipments. For all modes, safety must be the primary consideration in deciding routes. For truck shipments, shippers should consider accident rates, population exposure, and time in transit when evaluating routes. For shipments by rail, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) lists 27 factors that rail carriers must consider when conducting annual risk analyses of available routes (see 49 CFR 172.820 and Appendix D to Part 172 – “Rail Risk Analysis Factors”).
• Volume of hazardous material transported; • rail traffic density; • trip length for route; • presence and characteristics of railroad facilities; • track type, class, and maintenance schedule;
• track grade and curvature; • presence or absence of signals and train control systems along the route (“dark” versus signaled territory); • presence or absence of wayside hazard detectors; • number and types of grade
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