(The following report appeared on the CBC Montreal website on February 9.)
MONTREAL — Rail traffic between Montreal and Halifax will be slowed this week because of a train derailment at Montmagny, east of Quebec City, over the weekend.
About 10 freight cars plunged into a river Saturday after a bridge collapsed.
Two of the tankers carried chlorine, but neither container was ruptured, officials said.
On Sunday, crews continued to test the water but reported no leaks.
It may take several days to clean up the derailment, CN Rail said.
Pierre Leclerc of CN Rail said the cleanup of the site should take about five days. There was no word on when the bridge might be rebuilt.
He said that investigators are now trying to find out what caused the train to jump the tracks.
“It’s too early to determine what caused the derailment,” he said. “We’re focusing on a few issues. One is the track, the other one is equipment, and after that, it’s the human side.”
Leclerc said that investigators will also check the train’s “black box” data recorder to see how the train’s engineers handled the situation.
Leclerc said that passengers travelling to and from Halifax on Via Rail will be bussed for part of the way.
Indeed, Via Rail said that its “Ocean” service, operating between Montreal and Halifax, and the “Chaleur” train, operating between Montreal and the Gaspé region, will be replaced by bus service on certain segments until the CN line is reopened to rail traffic.