US government seeks train to haul nuclear waste

ATLANTA, Georgia—US federal officials are looking for train cars to haul nuclear waste toward its final resting place.

Too bad they have no idea where that train will actually go.

Officials at the U.S. Department of Energy asked commercial firms this spring for ideas on buying or leasing specialized train cars to haul radioactive, used fuel from nuclear reactors to an interim storage site or a geologic depository. Those railcars will carry 150-ton casks of fuel up to eight times annually.

U.S. officials began charging electricity customers years ago for handling the disposal of nuclear power waste. Plans for a disposal site have repeatedly bogged down.

The waste will likely move by rail because it’s too heavy for trucks or even normal railcars.