Steve Orr

@SOrr1

Trains carrying Bakken crude oil may be diverting around the city of Rochester, instead moving their highly volatile cargo mostly through Monroe County's southern suburbs.

Evidence suggests it, anyway, though the freight railroad in question, CSX Transportation, won't say for sure.

The choice of routes through the county would be significant to those concerned about the surge in rail movement of unrefined crude oil from the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota to refineries on the East Coast.

Nearly all the shipments reach their destination without incident. But four fiery derailments outside New York state over the last year — including one in which 47 people perished in a town in eastern Canada — have left some residents jittery and prompted regulators to tighten rules.

In a report that was made public two weeks ago, Florida-based CSX said that 20 to 35 of its oil trains move Bakken crude oil each week across upstate New York from Buffalo through the Rochester area and on to Albany.

Each of those trains consists of 50 to 100 tank cars of oil.

A map in that document indicated CSX sends those trains on the suburban route, which passes through Chili, Henrietta, Pittsford and Perinton.

A Rochester fire official also said it was the city's understanding that CSX preferred the suburban corridor, which is less densely populated.

A Henrietta fire chief said he had been told both routes are used, however.

CSX spokesman Rob Doolittle, citing security concerns, said he could not discuss the route. The document with the map was prepared by CSX to inform worried state officials about their oil shipments and released pursuant to a Freedom of Information Law request by The Associated Press and the Gannett Washington Bureau.

Oil production in the Bakken formation has grown enormously in recent years, leading to a marked increase in rail transport of oil. That is worrisome to many, because Bakken oil is more volatile than other crude oil. It contains more combustible gases than other oil produced or refined in this country, and evaporates more quickly.

Should a train carrying Bakken oil derail, the consequences can be dire.

In July 2013, a runaway oil train derailed in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada. Sixty-three tank cars carrying Bakken crude derailed, with some exploding and others fueling an enormous fire that devastated downtown Lac-Mégantic. Forty-seven people died.

Trains carrying Bakken oil have derailed in Alabama, North Dakota and Virginia since that time. Two led to explosions and all three to sizable fires. No one was killed or injured in those incidents.

New York state officials and others have expressed concern about the safety of oil transportation across upstate and also about facilities in Albany where oil is marshaled for loading onto ships and barges or for further travel by rail.

Locally, a small group staged a protest against the on-going shipments in the village of Fairport on the one-year anniversary of the Lac-Mégantic disaster.

"From our observation and from what information we have seen by others investigating the issue, it looks like they are using the tracks passing through the suburbs," a member of that group, Sue Smith of Brighton, said last week.

"Others in our group live near that line ... and my kids' school is in the blast zone," she said. "We're concerned that we cannot get information about the timing of trains and we're not sure first responders are adequately informed and able to handle a problem."

CSX's two main-line tracks enter the county in Riga and exit in Perinton, passing through Gates, Rochester, Brighton, East Rochester and Perinton. A third track, known as the West Shore line, branches off at the Riga-Chili town line and crosses four suburbs before rejoining the main line in Fairport.

CSX has the option of sending its freight trains across the county on either route. Amtrak passenger trains use the main line. The railroad observes a 50 mph speed limit on both routes, Doolittle said.

CSX has reported six derailments in Monroe County since it moved into upstate New York in 1999, according to publicly available records.

None were on the West Shore line, while five were on the main line. The most noteworthy was in 2007 in East Rochester, when nine freight cars flew off the tracks into residential front yards and onto a road. No one was hurt, but more than $1 million damage was done.

The sixth derailment bears similarities to the tragic train crash in Lac-Mégantic, which was caused by improper application of brakes on an idling train at the top of a long downslope.

The local incident took place in December 2001 when a CSX crew failed to properly set the brakes on a train delivering coal and chemicals to Eastman Kodak Co. and it began to roll down an incline toward Charlotte.

When it derailed at River Street, it sparked an enormous fire that destroyed buildings and boats in storage. No one was badly hurt, though had the accident occurred in summertime, casualties could have been considerable.

In response to concerns about the impact of a Bakken oil train derailment, CSX has conducted training sessions for first responders. Several were staged here in late June.

Drawing on the CSX session and other information, city fire officials "are continuing to plan to be prepared for crude oil and all railroad emergencies within the city and region," Rochester fire Lt. Andrew Lonthair said.

The city's impression, Lonthair said last week, is that "the preferred travel path for CSX crude oil cars is on the West Shore line, but we are under the impression that crude oil cars can travel on the main line due to CSX logistical needs."

Henrietta Fire Chief Jim Comstock said he asked CSX representatives during one of those training sessions which route they used.

"The answer was both, depending on the traffic. They didn't really say what was the preferred," Comstock said.

He said railroads have always moved hazardous cargo over local tracks, and first responders have planned accordingly. Still, he said the day-long CSX training event was useful.

"Is it something we're prepared for? Absolutely," Comstock said. "But it's something we hope we never have to deal with."

SORR@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/SOrr1

Help track oil trains

To help us understand which route through Monroe County is being used by CSX crude-oil trains, please email us any sightings in the Rochester area of trains consisting of 50 or more black-colored tank cars. Send the location, direction of travel, time and day of sighting to watchdog@democratandchronicle.com.

Monroe County railroad lines

The CSX main line (red), which is actually two lines and runs from Buffalo to Albany, passes through numerous suburbs and the middle of the city of Rochester. A third track called the West Shore line (blue) splits off the main line and runs between Chili and Fairport. The railroad uses both of the routes for freight trains.

The black lines show other, smaller rail lines.