Edmonton Alberta - Officials with CP Rail are investigating after some rail cars rolled through tracks in south Edmonton, and it's believed someone may have tampered with the brakes.
 
It's believed the two rail cars started rolling into the city at about 23:00 on Sunday, 28 Sep 2014, starting at a higher elevation on a side rail in the Ellerslie area where they had been stopped.
 
The cars finally came to a rest about 13 kilometres away from where they were parked.
 
A CP Rail spokesperson told CTV News the brakes were tested, and were functioning properly at the time of the incident, and railway police believe someone tampered with the brakes.
 
"CP takes situations like this very seriously, safety is a priority for us," Spokesperson Breanne Feigel said in a phone interview from Calgary.
 
"Certainly it's concerning when something like this does occur, and I do believe that we did handle it appropriately and safely."
 
Officials said all automatic rail crossings worked, and once officials found out about the runaway cars all railway movement in the area was stopped.
 
Since the incident, officials said a risk assessment has been completed, and protective devices have been added to the side track where it all started.
 
While this incident did not end in tragedy, a similar chain of events ended with a completely different story, in Lake Megantic, Quebec, on 6 Jul 2013, a runaway train smashed into the heart of the small town, and caught fire, sparking a roaring inferno that destroyed a large section of the town.
 
A total of 47 people died in the incident, it's been called the worst rail disaster in modern history.
 
Some Edmontonians living and working near to where the incident happened said they hope the case is a wakeup call for railway officials.
 
"If all it takes is to have somebody watch a train, well then, have somebody watch a train," Wes Adamkewicz, who works in south Edmonton, told CTV News.
 
"And then nobody has to die, nobody has to get hurt."
 
The criminal investigation will involve local police, Transport Canada, and the Transportation Safety Board.

Julia Parrish.