(The following story by Kelly Sinoski appeared on the Vancouver Sun website on October 9.)
VANCOUVER, B.C. — Hundreds of passengers on a scenic Rocky Mountaineer train trip had to bus the last leg from Kamloops to Vancouver Monday after a Canadian Pacific train derailment closed a section of the tracks.
The derailment occurred at about 2 a.m. after a westbound CP train jumped the tracks in the Black Canyon west of Kamloops, forcing closure of the tracks between Ashcroft and Lytton.
The train was hauling empty auto-carriers and container cars. The incident caused an eastbound CP train, which had been stopped to let the other train pass, to also derail.
Between the two trains, about 24 cars were off the tracks, closing the main CP line.
There were no injuries, environmental impacts or public safety issues as a result of the derailment, spokeswoman Breanne Feigel said.
The main CP line was expected to reopen today. The cause of the derailment is under investigation by CP and Transport Canada.
The closure meant Rocky Mountaineer passengers could not continue their trip through the scenic canyon.
Feigel said CP helped organize a convoy of buses to transport the passengers and crew from Kamloops to Vancouver.
Rocky Mountaineer said it had to hire 16 coaches for the 562 guests and 50 crew members.
Company spokesman Ian Robertson said although the passengers were inconvenienced, most were understanding about the change of plans.
The passengers had been on two separate Rocky Mountaineer trains; one from Banff and Calgary and one from Jasper. At Kamloops, all the passengers were slated to take the same train to Vancouver.
Even though it wasn’t the company’s fault, Robertson said, Rocky Mountaineer offered the passengers compensation or another Rocky Mountaineer tour.
“The majority took it very, very well. They understand it’s something totally out of our control,” Robertson said.
He said the passengers were “well-watered” and provided for on the buses and got into Vancouver earlier than planned. They arrived at about 3 p.m.
But, he said, “admittedly it’s not the same as travelling on the train.”
“For a lot of people this is a significant trip,” he said. “Fortunately we don’t have to do this too often during the season.”
The incident occurred a week before the Rocky Mountaineer season ended for the year.