Scene of the accident at Grande Pointe - 14 Jun 2012 Photographer unknown.

19 June 2012

CP Files Million-Dollar Diesel Spill Lawsuit

Grande Pointe Manitoba - Railway giant Canadian Pacific has launched a million-dollar lawsuit against a Winnipeg waste company and one of its garbage truck drivers after a crash led to a major derailment at a rural Manitoba rail crossing and triggered a large diesel spill.
 
Calgary-based CP has filed a court claim against Johnson Waste Management (JWM) and one of the company's drivers, Lorne Fuczec, seeking more than $1.1 million in damages in connection to a 14 Jun 2010 crash between Fuczec's garbage truck and the locomotive of a train near Grande Pointe.
 
The morning collision led to a 22-car derailment and major damage to the rail tracks.
 
A locomotive's gas tank was punctured as well, leading to a 4,000-litre fuel spill.
 
According to the Transportation Safety Board, Fuczec wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was badly injured after being thrown from the truck.
 
CP staffers on the train escaped harm.
 
CP alleges Fuczec was negligent in several ways, including for driving too fast for conditions, and failing to stop at the railway crossing in time.
 
The train was travelling at a safe speed, had its lights on full power, and was using its warning bell and whistle, the company claims.
 
CP accuses JWM of failing to keep the garbage truck in "a sound and roadworthy" condition and failed to supervise Fuczec properly.
 
Statements of claim contain unproven allegations and neither JWM nor Fuczec have responded to the company's lawsuit.
 
The collision led to a full investigation by the Transportation Safety Board.
 
One of the board's key findings was how the ambient noise level inside the cab of the garbage truck, it was travelling on a gravel road, may have masked the sound of the train's horn.
 
The TSB also noted moments before the crash, the truck driver's attention was likely focused on a passing car on the narrow road.
 
The driver used the crossing multiple times each workday to get to a nearby dump, the TSB report said, adding he told them he had never seen a train using the crossing and assumed the rail line was abandoned.
 
Visibility issues would have also played a role leading to the crash as well, the TSB found.
 
"With the empty cars blending into the surrounding landscape, the position and intensity of the sun likely reduced the driver's ability to detect the presence of the train," the TSB said. "The combination of the driver's focus on the oncoming vehicle and his expectation that there would not be a train at the crossing resulted in the driver not looking for, or noticing, the train until it was too late to avoid the collision."
 
The TSB found the garbage truck was in good repair and passed a safety inspection two weeks prior to the crash.
 
James Turner.