A railway derail that worked as advertised - Date/Photographer unknown.

23 July 2013

Opinion - Canadian Track Safety Devices

Canada - When Transport Canada (counterpart to the FRA in the US) approved one person crew operations on the Montreal Maine & Atlantic (MMA), a risk assessment will have been required because of a major operational change.
 
A simple risk assessment will have highlighted the mandate made by Transport Canada (TC) a number of years ago for federally regulated railways to protect from run-a-ways by the installation of derailing devices on locations where trains are staged etc.
 
Since 1997 CN and CP and other federally regulated railways have been installing these devices across their systems in Canada, under the eye of TC.
 
See the photo above to see how one such safety device works.
 
MMA staged their train in this instance on the main track at Nantes, Quebec, seven miles west of Lake Megantic.
 
Nantes is some 270 feet above Lake Megantic.
 
A proper risk assessment will have high lighted these facts.
 
The question that needs to be asked by Ms Chow, NDP transportation critic in Parliament, to the Minister of Transport, who is responsible for Transport Canada:  "Why, when Transport Canada approved one person train operation on MMA last year, such a safety protocol was not required?"
 
Also:  "Why are CP and CN having to install these safety appliances to guard against run-a-ways and not MMA, which is also federally regulated?"
 
The investigation is being conducted by the Transportation Safety Board (TSB), the same as the NTSB in the US.
 
Although they are government employees, they are not answerable to any one Member of Parliament, but are answerable to the entire parliament, including the opposition effectively making them an independent investigator so this allows them to criticize flaws within Transport Canada regulations.
 
Many people confuse the two.
 
TSB is the investigator while TC is the regulator.
 
Railways are a very safe way to transport goods and all railways including MMA have procedures and policies that are required to be followed.
 
In many cases these will exceed TC regulations.
 
Railway employees and managers are required to practice and follow the procedures and protocol.
 
Managers of the railways have the responsibility to train their employees and to ensure these are being correctly followed.
 
In short mangers have the responsibility to ensure their employees "stay out of trouble".
 
To do this, managers must be "fully" knowledgeable and experienced in the procedures and protocols.
 
"When you have rules they must be obeyed. To be obeyed they must be enforced."
 
That's simple enough.
 
Transport Canada has a responsibility in this incident, the management of MMA has a responsibility in this incident, as does the person responsible for the safe operation and the proper securement of the train in question, one person or otherwise.
 
No excuse for short cuts by anyone.
 
Author's name withheld.

Vancouver Island
British Columbia
Canada