Environmental groups in Pennsylvania and New Jersey say the US Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is “reckless” for allowing the transport of liquified natural gas by train.

Empower NJ, a coalition of environmental groups, used the phrase “bomb trains” to describe the plan. Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, called the approval “deeply disturbing” and “irresponsible.”

Complaints about the use of trains to transport energy products may carry more weight if these very same groups had not opposed the construction of safe, modern pipelines like …