8 June 2008
Wheels Unlikely Cause of Hat Derailment
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) recently said
43,000 wheel sets used by Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) "have a high susceptibility to loosen" and should be replaced,
however a CPR representative stated the issue is most likely resolved.
The wheel sets in question were assembled between April 1998 and February 2001 by Canadian National Transcona. Mike Lovecchio,
spokesperson for CPR, said in November 2001 they received an industry advisory saying they may have some defective wheel sets. CPR
conducted the prescribed inspections and replaced a number of defected wheel sets.
In January 2006, there was a derailment of a CPR train near Buckskin, Ont., which prompted the (TSB) investigation. At the time, CPR
suspected there were more wheel defects beyond the 2001 advisory, so they inspected the entire class of cars and replaced more wheel
sets.
"At this point, we believe that none of those wheel sets would remain in service simply because even they were missed in the first
and subsequent inspections, given the date of manufacture it's unlikely that they still exist. They would have been replaced by routine
and preventative maintenance," said Lovecchio on Thursday.
On 5 Apr 2008, two engines of a westbound Canadian Pacific train skidded off the rails in downtown Medicine Hat. Lovecchio
didn't know the circumstances of the incident, but said "it would be extremely unlikely that they were related (with the wheel set
defects).
"CP has a very active maintenance program. We have been North America's safest railway for six of the last seven years. We have
seen a 73 percent decline in accidents in the last decade."
|
