The Canadian government should force rail companies to inform local authorities about hazardous goods moving through their communities, say transportation ministers for the provinces. As they met on Wednesday, 17 rail cars went off the tracks near the village of Landis in the province of Saskatchewan. No one was injured.
Other recent accidents have raised concerns, particularly the runaway train that exploded, levelling the town core of Lac-Mégantic, in Quebec and killing 47 people in July. A bus hit a train at a level crossing near Ottawa last week. Six people died in that accident. Investigations are under way in both cases.
Rail safety “doing well”
In terms of rail safety “I think we’re doing well in Canada,” says Raynald Marchand, general manager for the charitable group, the Canada Safety Council. “If we look at ten years, (accidents are)…definitely going down and down and down. We have a lot of rails. It’s a big country. We transport a lot of goods by rail…For billions of kilometers driven, it is safer than other modes.”
There were 118 rail accidents in 2012 and 118 in 2011. That is down from the five-year average of 147.
The Lac-Mégantic disaster happened after a train was left unattended and hand brakes failed, allowing the train to roll downhill and derail. Subsequently, brakes and the staffing of trains are issues being discussed as is the labelling of trains that come in from the US carrying hazardous materials. The train in this case may have been carrying fuel with a much higher volatility than was indicated on its outside placard.
First responders need instant information
When arriving at an accident, first responders need to know exactly what is in the rail cars, says Marchand. He thinks there should be a central phone number they could reach to get the information.
Level crossings have become much busier in the western provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan and Marchand says many of them need improved signalling. Some of the busiest need tunnels or overpasses to separate train and vehicle traffic and, he says, drivers must always remember that a train approaches faster than it appears.
The transport minister of the province of Manitoba said the federal government should consider re-routing trains carrying hazardous goods away from populated areas. But Marchand says that is not likely to happen.
Federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt says her government is not ready to meet her counterparts’ demand that it force rail companies to be more transparent about the goods they carry.
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