TORONTO — A fiery oil-train derailment in Ontario this month suggests new safety requirements for tank cars carrying flammable liquids are inadequate, Canada’s transport safety investigator said Monday.

The accident was the latest in a spate of fiery derailments in Canada and the U.S., a trend that American safety officials say drives home the need for stronger tank cars, more effective braking systems and other safety improvements.

The U.S. and Canada are trying to coordinate on new tank car standards. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx met with safety officials in Canada in December to discuss the issue, but neither country has settled yet on a new tank car design, although the U.S. is getting closer. Transportation officials recently sent a proposal for new tank car standards to the White House budget office for review.

The Canadian Transportation Safety Board said the tank cars involved in the Feb. 14 train derailment met upgraded standards that started to be instituted last year for new tank cars carrying crude and other flammable liquids. But it said the Class 111, 1232 standard cars still “performed similarly” to those involved in the derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, that killed 47 people two years ago. That accident, involving a train hauling Class 111 tank cars and owned by the now-defunct Maine & Atlantic Railway, predated the upgraded standards.

“This was supposed to be a better-quality car. So far we haven’t seen that better performance,” Rob Johnston, a senior Canadian Transportation Safety Board official, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

In both cases, the tank cars ruptured and released crude oil, which fed the flames.

The Canadian safety board said at least 19 of the 25 cars in the Ontario derailment were breached or partially breached, and it estimated that more than 260,000 gallons of crude were released.

The agency said this month’s incident “demonstrates the inadequacy” of the new standards. It urged Canada’s transport regulator to quickly introduce enhanced safety protections.