RAILWAY TRANSPORTATION
Oil is transported from the field to a loading terminal by pipeline and/or truck, and shippers can be producers.
The Netherlands started shipping oil and oil-related products by rail almost as soon as railways were built in our nation. Petroleum products were initially transported by rail to the country’s center areas, but as the railway network expanded, transportation to practically all of the country’s regions became feasible. Any form of oil and the products of its processing can be delivered through railroad. It makes up around 40% of the overall volume of traffic. Only a small portion of this cargo (about 2%) is transported in smaller containers; tank cars are typically used to transport petroleum products (cans, barrels and containers). Specifically for the delivery of certain lubricants and oils, as well as tiny
Railway transport. general characteristics
Rail transportation is used to move all kinds of petroleum products, oil, and liquefied gases. About 40% of the overall traffic is made up of it. Rail transportation of oil and oil products, typically in tank trains. Only a small portion, roughly 2%, is delivered in cans, barrels, and other compact containers. Covered wagons are used to transport some types of oils, lubricants, and small quantities of light and dark petroleum products. The ability to distribute oil products at any time of the year makes rail transportation unique, and as a result, the bulk of distribution centers are situated along railroad lines. Rail transportation does have some serious limitations, though. Among them are significant sums of money spent on building new lines and renovating old ones; relatively
Railway tanks with a carrying capacity of 25, 50, 60, 90, and 120 tons are used to transport oil and oil products. The most typical four-axle tanks have volumes between 50 and 60 m3. Bulk lines are trains made up of tank cars. Tanks have universal draining mechanisms. They are set up in the boiler tank’s lower section and offer a full oil discharge. Tanks supply spring-loaded safety valves to control the maximum permissible pressure and vacuum in railway tanks, over which severe strains in the wall of the boiler can arise. Tanks designed to transport highly viscous solidifying petroleum compounds are fitted with internal heating elements or external steam jackets. The steam jacket warms (melts) the metal.
Bitumen is an extremely refractory oil product that is transported using specialized railroad carriages called bunker gondola cars. Their peculiarity is that they are made up of four bunkers with a steam jacket (11.8 m3) mounted on the car’s frame. Petroleum products are also shipped in containers by train. Small tanks with a carrying capacity of 2.5 and 5 tons are called containers. They are set up on railroad platforms, and when they get there, trucks loaded with cranes are waiting for them. Typically, oils and lubricants are transported in tank containers. Because of the high viscosity of oils and lubricants, containers for heating oil products are supplied with steam jackets when they are emptied.
Over the past few years, the amount of crude oil transported on trains in the Netherlands and throughout Europe has significantly increased. Only 20,000 barrels per day (12,000 carloads annually) of oil were transported by rail as recently as 2009, making up a very small portion of total oil transit. That was 0.001 percent of the total amount of crude oil shipped to refineries in Europe in that year. Rail transportation accounted for more than 950,000 bbl/d (540,000 carloads) of North Europe’s total production in 2013, or little under 9%.
Transporting petroleum by rail typically involves more parties than pipelines do. Pipelines and/or trucks are used to transfer oil from the field to a loading terminal. Shippers might be producers, refiners, or outside marketing firms. The correct loading and unloading of tank cars is the responsibility of loading/unloading terminal operators. The terminal operator is in charge of making sure that crude oil is placed into the proper tank cars and that those cars are appropriately labeled in line with hazardous material laws. Although some are owned by producers or refiners, most crude oil loading terminals are owned by independent corporations.