Gov. Tom Wolf has hired a specialist in railroad engineering and safety to help limit the risk of a potential oil train derailment on Pennsylvania's rail freight system.
Wolf's administration said Tuesday that the hiring of Allan Zarembski of the University of Delaware is for three months at $38,000.
Wolf says Pennsylvania sees some of the nation's largest volumes of crude oil shipments by rail, with about 60 to 70 refinery-bound trains from North Dakota's Bakken region.
Part of Zarembski's job is to identify high-risk areas and recommend safety measures.
Federal data indicates that 39 percent of the 1,220 train derailments last year were caused by track flaws. The trade association for major freight rail companies says the industry had its safest year in 2014.
