Safety of LPG rail transportation

The risk due to the road and rail transportation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is well known. The analysis of historical records evidences that severe scenarios were caused by road or rail accidents involving LPG pressurized tank cars. Consolidated approaches exist for the analysis, the prevention and the mitigation of risk due to the transportation of hazardous materials (HazMat) by road or rail. On June 29th, 2009, an extremely severe transportation accident involving LPG took place in the station of Viareggio, in Italy. A tanker was punctured, releasing its entire content, that ignited causing an extended and severe flash-fire, that set on fire several houses, causing extended damage and 31 fatalities. The present study focused on the analysis of the consequences of the event and on the evaluation of the effectiveness of the safety barriers now present along the railway. Once the accident has been simulated and the CFD model validated with the actual damage map, the same approach has been used to test the effectiveness of the safety wall that has been built, after the accident, by Viareggio’s municipality to protect the houses near to the railway line.