8 December 2006
12 Train Cars Derail in West End
Toronto Ontario - A train derailment in the west end jolted nearby
residents out of their beds early yesterday morning, skimmed the side of a building and spilled 12 carloads of grain.
The freight train, travelling from Winnipeg to Montreal, jumped the tracks about 5 a.m. near Osler and Dupont Sts. and slid into the
side of a warehouse, creating a deep crack and blowing a window. Despite the damage, Sgt. Debbie Sova said engineers deemed the
structure to be secure.
The crash happened in a residential area where rows of townhouses sit just metres from the track. No one was injured.
"I was lying in bed when I heard a huge bang and crash," said nearby resident Gordon Haldane, 41. "The earth shook. The
whole house shook, It was unreal."
Work crews are expected to be on scene for the next few days clearing up the area. Investigators from Transport Canada and CP Railway
were also examining the site.
"There are no environmental issues and no danger to the public," CPR spokesman Ed Greenberg said.
A businessman who works near the accident scene said crews had been near there Wednesday and Thursday, "banging all day" on
the tracks.
"There was a lot of noise. I don't know what they were doing but there was a big machine and a crane banging... about 500 yards
west of the derailment site," he said.
"It's a good thing it happened early in the morning because if it happened later at 9 a.m., that's when kids go to school. It
would have been a disaster."
Greenberg said tracks are regularly inspected for routine maintenance checks, and it's too early to speculate on the cause of the
accident.
"Nothing unusual was taking place on the tracks," he said. The maximum track speed in this corridor is 32 km/h and the train
was travelling below the speed limit, Greenberg said, although he couldn't specify how fast it was going.
The derailment isn't expected to impact operations because of route alternatives.
GO Train service wasn't affected and freight train service was expected to resume last night.
|
