9 April 2008
Highway No. 39 Reopens After Derailment
Ralph Saskatchewan - An evacuation order was lifted and
Highway 39 was reopened on Tuesday at the site of a fiery derailment involving three Canadian Pacific Railway trains in southeastern
Saskatchewan.
A local declaration of emergency that was imposed following Monday's accident and fire was also rescinded.
Canadian Pacific Railway and Transportation Safety Board officials were looking into the cause of the accident, which included blazing
train cars that may have been carrying plastic pellets.
Mike LoVecchio, a spokesman for the CPR, would not comment on reports that the collision was caused by an operator of one of the
trains.
"We are investigating the accident, but at this point it is too early to speculate on the causes," LoVecchio said. "We
are in the preliminary stages."
LoVecchio said no environmental problems have been detected so far, but tests are being conducted on air and water in the area, 150
kilometres southeast of Regina.
The CPR has said that a southbound freight train collided with a stationary train around 8:15 am on Monday.
A third train was parked nearby on a siding.
Fire and police evacuated people in the area and closed the highway as a precaution.
The blazing cars were finally extinguished early Tuesday morning.
CPR reopened its rail line on Tuesday afternoon.
|
