Over the last decade, the Keystone XL Pipeline has grown from just another pipeline proposal into a political football that dominates domestic politics. The volatile argument surrounding the pipeline has divided the country. It has become environmentalists’ symbol of how businesses are harming the environment. The problem is that when pipelines become politically unpopular, crude oil is then transported by rail, which is no safer than transporting it by pipeline.

We currently transport crude oil using one of two methods: pipeline or rail. Given the political climate surrounding the Keystone Pipeline, it is likely that rail transport will be the main mode of crude oil transport in the United States for the foreseeable future. What most people fail to understand is that our current method of transporting crude oil by rail has huge problems of its own.

On its way from reserves in oil-rich North and South Dakota, billions of gallons of crude oil are transported on a segment of our nation’s aging railways nicknamed the “virtual pipeline.” This virtual pipeline passes through countless towns and small cities until it reaches the dispersion hub in Albany where it is redirected toward the major east coast cities.

In the United States as well as in Canada, crude oil is transported using DOT-111 railcars. These aging cars were designed to transport liquids and were not necessarily made to carry volatile liquids like oil. In an accident or derailment, these cars can malfunction, often with catastrophic results.

While there have been many derailments and accidents involving oil tankers recently, the 2013 derailment — and subsequent explosion — in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, which killed 47 people and leveled a town, most clearly demonstrates the potential devastation an accident can cause. Even worse, the federal government predicts that trains hauling crude oil or ethanol will derail an average of 10 times a year over the next two decades.

Luckily, the government has not been completely silent on the issue of railroad safety. In the wake of a series of accidents involving trains carrying crude oil, the federal government has made attempts to make oil transportation safer. The Department of Transportation has ordered rail companies to phase out their aging DOT-111 cars in favor of newer, safer vehicles. However, they have given rail companies until 2018 to complete the transition, which is far too generous of a time period.

Given Congress’ failure to act, the DOT issued a series of emergency orders in an attempt to address the issue. The new regulations include a 40 mph speed limit for trains moving through urban areas along with new cargo disclosure requirements.

These regulations are certainly a step in the right direction, but they do not go far enough. Congress must act to require retrofitting of existing cars to meet safety standards along with expediting the transition process to newer, crash-worthy cars. Congress must act quickly despite the railroad industry’s attempts to slow the process, as these regulations are a necessary oversight on an industry that has demonstrated that it will not make the changes itself. Focusing solely on the Keystone XL Pipeline is detracting from many of the issues we face today.