Just one point. We are shipping a lot more oil now due to increases in domestic production combined with a lack of approved pipelines. So while the rate of accidents may not change, the number of accidents is quite likely to be higher.
North Dakota oil rail shipments expected to spike
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3101356/posts
Study says pipeline resistance raises oil-transport risks
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3081952/posts
U.S. crude oil increasingly moves by barge, truck and rail
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3041737/posts
Completely agree with that, they have to mathematically.
I was just pointing out that in this particular case that tanker would have been on those tracks no matter how many pipelines we put in the ground.
How the oil gets to the refinery or from there to a smaller regional point is what most people were commenting on it seems. Rail is almost always the safest and most economical way for larger (but still small) end user shipments like this.