(The following story by Mark Hume appeared on the Globe and Mail website on October 27.)
VANCOUVER, B.C. — After two derailments just a few kilometres apart in the Cheakamus Canyon, near Squamish, Transport Canada has been asked to ensure that CN Rail is operating safely on lines it recently acquired by purchasing BC Rail.
Dan Holbrook of the Transportation Safety Board said yesterday that he has written to Transport Canada asking the federal department “to evaluate CN’s operational review and assess their equipment handling, train length and tonnage instructions to ensure they are adequate for safe train operation over the sharp curvature and heavy grades of this territory.”
There have been two derailments in Cheakamus Canyon in the past three months, the first on Aug. 5 and the second a few days ago, when 10 empty cars left the track. In the August derailment, train cars spilled sodium hydroxide into the Cheakamus River, killing an estimated 4,000 salmon and trout.
“The impact was significant on most fish species in the river . . .
steelhead were hit the hardest,” said Corino Salomi, a Department of Fisheries and Oceans spokesman.
There have been 19 accidents on the former BC Rail lines since CN Rail acquired the railway from the B.C. government in 2003.
“So what we’re looking at is, how closely did Canadian National look at the operating practices that were established by BC Rail?” Mr. Holbrook said. “And we’re suggesting that the safety regulator, Transport Canada, may want to take a good, long, hard look at the train handling instructions and the operating procedure for operating over this territory. It’s rather unique. I mean, there is other mountain territory across the country, but it has particularly tight curvature and steep grades in the railway world and it warrants special attention.”
Mr. Holbrook said a Transportation Safety Board investigation is under way into both derailments.
Graham Dallas, a spokesman for CN Rail, said the railway has not yet heard from Transport Canada but is aware of the correspondence between the two federal bodies.
“We expect to be in communication with Transport Canada about safety issues in the near future,” he said.
But Mr. Dallas said he didn’t think a review of CN Rail’s operating procedures would turn up any problems, because CN is using the procedures established by BC Rail — and is doing a better job on safety.
“The operating instructions on the former BC Rail [lines] have been in place for many years and have not changed [since CN Rail purchased the operation].
“And CN Rail’s safety record indicates CN’s safety record has been significantly better than BC Rail’s.”
Mr. Dallas said that in its last year of operation BC Rail had 25 accidents on its rail lines in the province. In 2004, operating on the same lines, CN Rail had only 12 accidents. CN has had seven accidents on former BC Rail lines so far this year.
“Certainly CN has had derailments, but we’ve had far fewer than any other railroad in North America,” he said.
There have been two other recent derailments in B.C. In one a CP Rail train left the tracks in Kamloops, while moving slowly into the rail yard. In the other a mudslide caused a CN Rail train to derail near Yale, in the Fraser Canyon, injuring two rail employees.