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The Federal Railroad Administration signaled that effective Jan. 1 it would begin levying fines against freight and passenger railroads if their positive train control projects are not completed.

Trains carrying crude oil will be restricted to a 40 mph speed limit in populated areas such as New York under an order by the U.S. Department of Transportation in response to a series of derailments.

The three agencies that oversee truck, railroad and pipeline safety are asking to hire more inspectors to address concerns generated by the nation’s energy boom.

The slowdown that North American railroad companies had been bracing for in crude oil shipments has turned into a rout, with volumes falling faster than executives had predicted.

Lower speed limits for railroads may be ineffective at keeping oil trains on the tracks and preventing massive fireballs, such as those triggered in a series of recent derailments, the chief U.S. railroad regulator said.

Canada is strengthening proposed new safety standards for rail cars carrying crude oil, requiring thicker steel and other improvements after a 2013 derailment killed 47 people.

Canadian National Railway Co. is building a 1,500-foot long track to bypass a burning train that derailed March 7 in northern Ontario, while BNSF Railway Co. crews are working to reopen track in rural Illinois after a train carrying oil derailed March 5.

American International Group Inc., the largest commercial insurer in the U.S. and Canada, introduced a policy to help railroads handle losses from catastrophic accidents as more crude oil is shipped by trains.