A typical un-controlled railway grade crossing somewhere in Canada - Date/Photographer unknown.

5 April 2013

Agency Checks White River Derailment

White River Ontario - A train derailment that spilled oil near White River will be probed by Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
 
Three investigators from Richmond Hill, Ontario, and Gatineau, Quebec, arrived at the scene of the Canadian Pacific Railway derailment on Wednesday night.
 
Twenty cars in a 128-car mixed-freight train headed to Montreal left the tracks. An estimated 400 barrels of light sweet crude spilled from two cars. CPR reports the oil was contained by berms constructed at the site.
 
"We want to determine the causes and contributing factors of the derailment," said TSB spokesman John Cottreau.
 
"We think there are lessons to be learned here that will affect safety on the system."
 
The three investigators will collect data, do interviews, and collect equipment, such as wheel sets, rails, and brake components, associated with the derailment.
 
Samples will be sent to a TSB laboratory in Ottawa.
 
It's not known how long the trio will work in White River. The community is 315 kilometres north of Sault Ste. Marie.
 
"We take the time we need to ensure a thorough investigation that answers what happened, why, and what can be learned, to make sure this doesn't happen again," said Cottreau.
 
The TSB will publish its findings when the investigation is done. Any possible recommendations investigators may make are not binding on the railway industry. The TSB does not lay charges.
 
"We will encourage a thorough reading by industry and the regulator (Transport Canada) in the hopes they can find solutions so that the occurrence doesn't happen again," said Cottreau.
 
A total of 31 main-track derailments of three or more cars were reported to TSB in 2012. That's down from 57 in 2011.
 
Brian Kelly.

Vancouver Island
British Columbia
Canada