(The following story by Chris Munkedal appeared on the Fort Saskatchewan Record website on February 11.)
FORT SASKATCHEWAN, AB — The Transportation Safety Board is investigating after a worker was killed by a train Friday.
Canadian Pacific Railway Spokesperson Tyra Henschel says the man is believed to have been killed while “switching” the tracks in a yard at Shell’s Scotford refinery on Range Road 214, 15 Kilometres northeast of Fort Saskatchewan.
The incident occurred at 3 p.m.
Strathcona RCMP had control of the scene and were examining it.
The Safety Board is looking into the incident to ensure labor codes were complied with, a spokesperson for Transport Canada said.
Area residents were turned away from the railroad crossing while the site was examined by officials for more than two hours.
Henschel said a foreman at the site indicated it’s the first fatality he’s seen while working there for the last 18 years.
“Fortunately, fatalities on the railroad are few and far between, particularly amongst our work force,” said Henschel.
“Needless to say when this happens it hits all our employee population hard.”
She said the man was a conductor trainee who started with CP Rail in May 2003.
“He’s been described by his instructors as a safe, conscientious and competitive worker,” she said, adding it’s CP policy not to release the name of the worker.