Canada's Riskiest Train Crossings

The CBC has broken a story about a Transport Canada database listing Canada's "highest risk" railway crossings. The gist of the article is that TC should have made this list available to municipalities and the public. (update: it will be shared)

I can't comment on that but I imagine it wasn't shared because:

1. TC didn't think anyone else was interested; and/or
2. TC wasn't entirely confident of their algorithms and didn't want them challenged.

In any case, a slightly older version of the database is available for searching at the bottom of the article above. You can enter your city and it will list the crossings in your area that are in the database.

Driver Error

Winnipeg's Waverley Street crossing was listed as one of the top 5 riskiest in Winnipeg (CBC article). The CBC article interviewed a woman whose vehicle was struck on the crossing... after she stopped on the tracks. The Manitoba Highway Traffic Act is quite clear on this:

135.1       No person shall stop a vehicle (a) within a railway crossing; or (b) in a location where any part of the vehicle is over a track in a railway crossing.

Seems pretty clear to me.

As you may know, I'm not in favour of the $155 million plan to replace this crossing with an overpass. The accident above was totally preventable - don't stop on the tracks. Period.

And don't get me started on people who drive around gates...

Speed

Many rural crossings were built decades ago when trains and cars were slower, and they are obsolete.

The tragic accident near Elie, Manitoba early this year is an example of this. The accident happened after a hockey game, probably at night, and VIA 2 hit their truck at about 70 MPH at the 7W grade crossing here. 15 year old Taylor Piskor was critically injured, and her father was also injured. Sadly Taylor died in early March.

The sight lines would be great at that crossing, but it's hard to judge train speeds, especially at night. When you see a headlight in the distance, what do you do? Do you wait, knowing that you could be delayed 5-10 minutes (or more), or do you proceed?

Humans are not always good at assessing risks. We are good at recognizing high probability / high consequence risks ("should I go into that tiger cage?") but not good at recognizing low probability / high consequence risks ("should I race the train?"). This is why we pour billions of dollars into airport security when an American is more likely to be crushed by falling furniture than killed by a terrorist.

We suck at risk assessment, which is why we rely on automated protections so much.

Inherent Problems

I agree that many of the crossings shown in this follow-up article have inherent problems. Sight-lines are a big problem. The Hall Road crossing here is a good example, and it is listed in Winnipeg's highest risk crossings. I know that you can't see to the right / east until you are practically on the rails, because the sight lines are terrible and the road is lower than the tracks.


Another common issue is a road intersection very close to the tracks. This can cause traffic to back up onto the tracks... even though you're not supposed to stop on tracks (see above). I recall a crossing in rural Nova Scotia had a truck-train collision several years ago because of this; the truck stopped at the intersection but the trailer was hanging over the tracks.

Solutions

In many cases, I believe the solution is to close the crossing.

It can cost $250,000 or more to put a full railway crossing with lights and gates in, and then it has to be maintained forever at a significant cost. There has to be a cost/benefit analysis done and in many cases the benefit of increased safety at a crossing is not worth the cost. So close the crossing and make drivers go an extra couple of kilometers.

In the Hall Road example above, there is a much safer crossing 3.5 km to the west (with lights and gates and good sight lines), or the Perimeter Highway overpass 2 km to the east (an overpass). Just close it.

Transport Canada has a grade crossing closure program.

In many cases, though, closing the crossing is not an option. Each crossing has to be examined on its own merit and often there is no simple solution. Keep in mind that in most cases the municipality / province has to bear the cost of upgrading the crossings, because the railway was there first and the road came later.

So we need to upgrade some crossings. Let's get to it and make our crossings safer.

In the meantime, stop - look - listen and don't proceed unless you're sure it is safe. It's better to wait a few minutes while a train passes than to take a chance and lose... big time.

More information:

• Operation Lifesaver Train Safety FAQ
• Canada Safety Council safety at railway crossings
• Railway Association of Canada rail safety
• Canadian grade crossings regulations

CN Derailment in Downtown Winnipeg

There was a derailment in downtown Winnipeg late this afternoon, around 4:40 PM. According to CN's Twitter account "At ~4:40pm local time, 9 cars on westbound CN freight train derailed upright on CN main line in downtown Winnipeg. No leaks or injuries. Loaded cars contained sand; 2 derailed tank cars empty. CN crews on site, working to restore service. The cause is under investigation."

The cars in the above photo appear to be derailed. Notice how the car second from right is not connected. I noted sparks flying as crews were apparently cutting the couplers to separate them.

There was plenty of equipment and personnel in the nearby parking lot. That's the Fort Garry Hotel in the background, and you can see the dome of the VIA station above the truck cab.

There were personnel walking the train. Here I saw two people on the William Stephenson Way overpass. The end of the train is just off the right side of the photo.

Note the angle of the covered hoppers in the two photos below... clearly derailed.

Thank goodness they didn't fall off the overpasses!

I hadn't read my news this afternoon so I was totally unaware. I had headed up to the north end of Winnipeg after supper to get some video tapes converted to digital, and on my way home I noted the sparks flying from the stopped train and investigated.

Apparently CN believes the track will be clear late this evening. It's fortunate the cars were all upright and it doesn't appear that they traveled very far after derailing.

Global has helicopter video! The north track looks pretty torn up.
News reports:

• CBC
• Winnipeg Free Press
• Global
• CTV

Update: The CN Communications Twitter account responded to my inquiry and told me that one track was opened by midnight Wednesday night. The track is reported clear as of Friday night.

MM&A and Employees Charged

Associated Press photo, Paul Chiasson

Just over 9 months after the railway disaster in Lac-Mégantic on July 6 2013, three men were arrested by the Sûreté du Québec (the Quebec provincial police) and each will be charged with 47 counts of criminal negligence causing death on Tuesday. The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway itself also received the same charges.

The three are:

• Thomas Harding, the engineer of the train that rolled into Lac-Mégantic;
• Richard Labrie, a railway traffic controller for the railway; and
• Jean Demaitre, the director of operations for the railway.

It's said that Harding was arrested by a SWAT team, even though his lawyer (Thomas Walsh) had already communicated that he would voluntarily turn himself in if charged.

I'm curious why it took so long to lay charges. It's possible that there is a draft of the upcoming Transportation Safety Board report being privately circulated that contained enough to get warrants for their arrests. I'm sure it'll come out soon.

I'm also a little surprised that more people weren't charged.

EDIT: The Transport Minister, Lisa Raitt, is announcing new rail tanker rules right now, another direct result of the Lac-Mégantic disaster.

References:

• Wall Street Journal article
• National Post article
• Link to the former officers of the MMA here.
• Is Tom Harding a villain or victim?

CN Derailment Today

CN 532 derailed about 5-7 cars around 12:55 today, just south of St. Norbert outside Winnipeg. Fortunately nobody was hurt and the cars did not contain any dangerous goods. Crews were on the scene to start cleaning up. I went there later in the afternoon and took some photos.

The police had one of the southbound #75 lanes blocked so the equipment could park, and the scene was taped off. I was able to shoot a fair bit from the "good" side of the tape. I had a nice conversation with one of Winnipeg's finest about railfans!

This is looking south from the bridge over the La Salle River. There were a few pipe loads involved in the derailment.

The CN boxcar involved in the derailment.

One crane was on site beginning to try to rerail a pipe car.

One lane was blocked off. The backhoe was going in to start digging an approach road to the scene.

One truck of NCIX 1251 was off the rails.

The "big hook" on scene. It wasn't being deployed when I arrived. It was probably waiting for the road to be built.

A view from the south end. You can see two hopper cars (with plastic pellets onboard, according to the news reports) and the CN boxcar.

The derailment scene is at 49.759548, -97.151342 if you want to look it up on Google Maps.


One bystander told me that the rest of the train had been south of the scene, but it was gone by the time I arrived. I presume they continued south to Emerson.

News reports: CBC and Winnipeg Free Press

Plaster Rock Derailment

Earlier this week, CN 308 derailed just outside Plaster Rock, New Brunswick on Tuesday January 7. A number of the tank cars on the train caught fire and burned, quite spectacularly, but fortunately no one was hurt. The CN Napadogan subdivision was blocked until early Saturday morning. During that time, CN detoured trains through northern New Brunswick over the ailing Newcastle subdivision.

CN 308 had three locomotives on the head end, one DPU engine near the rear (CN 2684), and 122 cars. 19 cars and the remote locomotive derailed. Two of the LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cars burned, and officials conducted a controlled burn to put the fire out.

Preliminary reports indicate that a car near the head end (13th car?) had a broken wheel. The initial Transportation Safety Board (TSB) findings indicate that the broken wheel tore up the track and rails for 10 miles before the derailment, and they found 17 broken rails and 50 impact locations on the rails.

About 150 people in the area were evacuated as a precaution. They are now permitted back in their homes but have been instructed not to drink local water, as it may have become contaminated.

Here's a TSB photo of the offending car. Notice how both wheels are sitting on the ground between the rails.

There's a closeup of the wheel showing a big crack in it. I wonder if they will be able to determine if the crack was there prior to the derailment, or whether it was caused by banging on ties and crossings and so forth for 10 miles.

All of CN's regular trains detoured through northern New Brunswick: CN 120, 121, 305 and 308. CN 120 was the last detouring train on Saturday morning. Here are a few of the detouring trains:

• CN 120: CN 5611, CN 2438, and CN 2646
• CN 121: CN 2652, CN 5693, and CN 8900 

The challenge with detouring on the north line is that there are few places to meet, given the short and infrequent sidings. CN 120 and 121 met in Campbellton and there was another meet at Irvco near Belledune.

Photos courtesy of the TSB's excellent Flickr page. Thanks to all of the railfans (Wendell, Nicolas, Michel and more) for their sightings.

UPDATE: The cleanup is nearly complete as of January 22.

UPDATE: The wreck site is now open to the public, as of February 10.

Fight Over Lac-Mégantic Cleanup Costs

The Quebec provincial government has added CP Rail to its list of companies deemed responsible for the cleanup of the Lac-Mégantic disaster. The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic (MMA) is on the list, of course, as well as the Western Petroleum Company (owners of the rail cars?) and World Fuel Services (the purchaser of the fuel).

The finger-pointing is in full swing. World Fuel Services says they aren't responsible, since they dealt only with CP, and CP subcontracted to MMA. CP is appealing the decision and says they aren't responsible. At least the MMA is not denying they have some responsibility.

Let's face it - nobody is going to step up and say they are responsible if they can avoid it. The cleanup costs are going to be huge (estimated at over $200 million) and the class-action suit(s) are going to pile on too (they're already going after CP). It would be crazy for any company (except MMA) to pay now, before any official reports have come out about the accident.

Fortunately, the water quality is improving. There's no word yet on the tons of contaminated soil in the "red zone" (explosion area) and what is to be done with that.

In other Lac-Mégantic news, the MMA may get an extension to their operating permit since they have said they still have liability insurance. They can operate to October 1 provided they can prove they have liability insurance by August 23.

The CBC is reporting that J.D. Irving is considering purchasing the MMA rail lines. This makes a lot of sense, since the MMA line provides their only direct connection with CP in Quebec (see map).

Here's a few other blogs who have done some analysis of the Lac-Mégantic incident:

• Thomas Blampied's Railway World
• CP Rail Manitoba and Minnesota Subdivision
• Road Wolf

Aside: When did the NB Southern web site start referring to the NB&M Railways instead of NB Southern? It looks like someone did a massive search and replace. I looked at archive.org, and apparently the NB Southern web site still said NB Southern on June 21, but now it says NB&M.

Lac-Mégantic, Three Weeks Later

It's been 22 days since the terrible derailment and disaster at Lac-Mégantic. The community is no doubt still in shock and trying to make sense of the disaster. It is believed that 47 people died, although some have yet to be identified. The CBC says life is slowly returning to normal but I can't imagine the town will be anything like "normal" for a long time.

The federal government has promised $60 million in aid for the town, matching the province of Quebec's contribution. About 1,000 runners ran the 12 km from the Eastern Townships to Lac-Mégantic to raise money for the victims.

A lot of focus has been placed on the operation of MMA trains by a single crew person. This Eastern Railroad News article talks about the introduction of single-person crews. In theory a one-person crew can operate a train but I have questions about the operation of main line trains by single crews, mainly what might happen if the crew-person has health issues while operating the train.

The Transportation Safety Board has posted a Rail Advisory Letter after the accident, advising Transport Canada to consider reviewing its procedures on unattended trains. Transport Canada has issued an emergency directive disallowing one-man operation for trains with tank cars, as well as other directives for unattended trains. New Brunswick Southern Railway has announced changes to its operating procedures, although it never left main line trains unattended anyway.

Of course, the lawsuits have begun, with a class-action suit naming pretty much anyone with any involvement.

A fellow named Mathieu Huchette posted a photo purportedly of the lead engine (MMA 5017) on fire at Nantes, just prior to the train rolling away.

The MMA has laid off a large portion of its employees (19/80 in Canada and 79/179 in the USA) due to the continued closure of the line through Lac-Mégantic. The company is reported to be struggling financially, and its Farnham, Quebec offices were raided by police looking for information for their investigation.

Much more to come.

PS - Eastern Rail News have other related articles on their news page but they are subscription-only. Consider subscribing - it's quite inexpensive right now.

More on Lac-Mégantic

Many more details are emerging on the Lac-Mégantic disaster.

MMA's chairman, Edward Burkhardt, was interviewed about the accident. His position is that the railway followed generally-accepted practices. He said the practices were obviously not sufficient and they have made changes already: the train will continue on to Sherbrooke and not change in Nantes, and the trains will not be left unmanned.

Burkhardt visited the scene today, and during media interviews he basically said the engineer didn't set enough hand brakes. "It seems an adequate number of hand brakes were not set, and this is the engineer's responsibility. I don't think he'll be back working with us." Apparently the train engineer, Tom Harding, pulled nine of the tank cars out of the way after the explosions started.

Here's a good piece describing how train brakes work and how trains are parked. MMA officials said that all five locomotives had their hand brakes on, but it did not say how many cars also had their hand brakes on. The accepted rule of thumb is 10% of the cars plus 2 brakes. For a train of 5 engines and 72 cars, at least 9 hand brakes should have been set. The fact that the train was on a slope should have been considered as well.

There is speculation that the initial explosions were caused by propane cars in the downtown. This makes more sense than the crude oil exploding. Crude will burn, of course, but it is not that volatile.

The cleanup continues, and the grisly task of finding and identifying bodies is part of that. The Quebec police are currently treating this as a crime scene. Mr. Burkhardt said that MMA has not been permitted access to the locomotives.

Many towns with railway tracks nearby are now questioning the railways. Rothesay, NB is questioning CN and Harvey, NB already talked to NB Southern. So is Ste-Anne, MB. I think it's good that they are questioning, so they can update their emergency response plans and be aware of the risks. I don't think it is realistic to expect the railways to share the exact consist of every train passing through, but it would be helpful for the towns to know what kind of cargoes travel through.

First Thoughts on the Lac-Mégantic Disaster

By now I'm sure you have read the news reports about the Lac-Mégantic train accident.. but if not, here's the recap: a Montreal, Maine and Atlantic (MMA) freight train was parked a few miles outside of the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. The engineer booked off and left, and sometime in the early morning the unmanned train rolled into Lac-Mégantic, derailed and a number of explosions occurred, followed by intense fires. At this point it appears that thirteen (13) people were killed but it is likely that this number will rise, as up to 40 are reported missing. The explosion and fires happened in the downtown core and the town is devastated, physically and emotionally. About 2,000 of the 6,000 people living in the town were evacuated and at least 30 buildings downtown have been destroyed.

From this press release from MMA and CBC and National Post reports, the timeline appears to be:

• July 5, 23:15: Train stopped and tied down by engineer at Nantes. The train had 5 locomotives and 72 car loads of crude oil, destined for Irving Oil in Saint John, NB.
• July 5, 23:30: Nearby resident calls 911 and reports a fire in the parked train. Firefighters respond and put the fire out. A track maintenance employee of MMA was present.
• July 6, ?????: Train starts rolling downhill to Lac-Mégantic.
• July 6, 01:15: Train derailed at Rue Frontenac crossing in downtown Lac-Mégantic
• July 6 (later): Firefighters battle the intense blaze through the day. 13 intact carloads pulled from rear of train by MMA.

From the second press release by MMA, it appears the engine(s) were shut down after the engineer left, presumably during or after the firefighters arrived to put the fire out. What is disturbing to me is that the MMA statement says that the shutdown "may have resulted in the release of air brakes on the locomotive that was holding the train in place". I am no railroader but section 112 of the Canadian Rail Operating Rules is quite clear on this.

When equipment is left at any point a sufficient number of hand brakes must be applied to prevent it from moving. Special instructions will indicate the minimum hand brake requirements for all locations where equipment is left. If equipment is left on a siding, it must be coupled to other equipment if any on such track unless it is necessary to provide separation at a public crossing at grade or elsewhere.

(emphasis mine)  The implication is that air brakes cannot be relied upon to hold a train in place. Again, I am strictly an amateur but this did catch my eye.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating and they have 14 people on the scene. I understand the locomotive event recorder has been recovered. That will help fill in the timeline as to when the train started moving, and most crucially, when the air brakes were released.

In addition to the tragic loss of life, the destruction of the town, there are concerns about water quality due to the quantity of spilled crude oil.

There are some railfan reports that the runaway train may have struck a set of propane cars that were in the town and those are what caused the initial explosions.

My heart is broken at the thoughts of the people killed and injured as a result of this terrible accident.

EDIT: More information here that confirms that the firefighters shut the engine down before battling the blaze.

Terrible News

The CBC was reporting that 3 contract workers were hit by a train near Edmonton in the morning of Boxing Day (December 26). The three work for A&B Rail Services and were contracted to clear snow off the tracks at the CN Clover Bar rail yard just outside Edmonton. It appears that it happened here... I was right at that spot back in June 2010.

The CBC story says they were using snowblowers and had the appropriate hearing protection on, so there was no way they could have heard an approaching train. They were struck by a train traveling at approximately 40 km/hr. Two are in critical condition and one has minor injuries.

CTV Edmonton is reporting that a stop-work order has been issued and several agencies are investigating, including the Transportation Safety Board (TSB, who issued a brief statement) and Occupational Healthy and Safety.

The Edmonton Journal is reporting that two of the workers will be released soon, but the third, aged 20, is facing a long recovery. The Journal also quotes a TSB official as saying that a Safety Watch should have been in effect to warn the workers of the oncoming train.

There is not much information available online about CN's Safety Watch program. CN's Safety web page has not been substantially updated for a couple of years. As far as I can gather, a Safety Watch requires one worker to be solely dedicated to watching out for trains and other hazards and be in a position to alert the other workers in a timely manner. The Safety Watch person must not do any other work. Time will tell what happened here but clearly the system did not work for these workers.

This situation is reminiscent of the July 2011 incident near Durham, Ontario where one rail worker was killed due to an inadequate safety watch. CN updated its procedures but clearly more needs to be done to ensure the safety of CN workers and contractors.

My best wishes to the injured men and to their families for the recovery ahead.

A Damn Shame

This is a damn shame. I was just reading this article about two Maryland girls who were killed when a CSX train derailed next to them. Apparently they were sitting on a railway bridge in Ellicott City, Maryland, tweeting away on their phones, when the train passed behind them and derailed, burying them in spilled coal.

Rose Mayr and Elizabeth Nass were both 19. Elizabeth's last tweet was "Drinking on top of the Ellicott City sign with @r0se_petals". They were very close to the Ellicott City Baltimore and Ohio Museum (featuring the oldest surviving railroad station in the USA) and it is prominent in the news footage.

The big question is why did the train derail right there? CSX is investigating and plans to resume service soon, once all the coal from the 21 derailed cars is cleared away. All that is known at this time is that the train was going at track speed of 25 MPH, an engineer-in-training was at the controls, the cars immediately behind the engines derailed, and the crew were unaware of any problems until an emergency braking application occurred (probably from a brake line separating).

It's easy enough to say that they should not have been there... but really, haven't we all been pretty close to the tracks? If you look at this image on Panoramio, it's clear that you could be on the station platform at the museum and be just almost as close to the tracks as the girls were.


I understand they were quite close to the tracks but I don't think a few feet farther away would have made much difference. As Marmie Edwards, a spokeswoman for Operation Lifesaver, said, "It's probably just as well to stay away, not just to be off the tracks, but stay away from the train so you know you're going to be safe,"  she added . "Because it's hard to say, 'OK, here it's safe; there it's not.' So just stay away."

My condolences to the family and friends of these two young women.

VIA Accident Update

Tom Griffith, the lead investigator from the TSB for Sunday's derailment in Ontario, gave a short press conference this morning. You can view it on CTV News. CTV has three separate parts: the conference, an interview with Tom Griffith, and an interview with Emile Therien, past president of the Canada Safety Council.

Take-away points:

• The "black box" was installed in another engine and all its contents were read.
• VIA 92 had stopped at a station stop and was accelerating since that stop.
• The brakes were operational but were not applied.
• VIA 6444 was going 67 MPH through a 15 MPH crossover switch.
• The switch was properly lined to transfer the train between tracks.
• The train's speed was the cause of the derailment.

The big question, of course, is why they were going so fast? It seems obvious that the crew were either unaware they were going to cross over or had overlooked that during the station stop. The TSB's job now is to determine what signal(s) the crew saw, who was operating the locomotive, and if possibly why they accelerated well past the speed limit.

CTV's interviewer seemed startled that there is no external "oversight" on the train's speed. She seemed to believe that there was some mechanism or human overseer that watched the speed of all trains and could intervene if necessary.

Such a technology exists, and it is called Positive Train Control (PTC) in North America. It is not implemented anywhere in Canada to my knowledge, and although it is mandated to be implemented in the USA by 2015, it is very doubtful that that target will be reached. It is complex and very expensive to implement.

PTC could have prevented this accident. However, if you think of it, we do not have any similar system in place for other forms of public transportation like buses and aircraft. The onus is on the driver / pilot / engineer to know the speed limits and follow them.

Emile Therien implied that Transport Canada's implementation of Railway Safety Management Systems (SMS) (essentially self-inspection of the railways) beginning in 2001 has resulted in more accidents. Statistics (and oddly, the current president of the Canada Safety Council, Raynald Marchand) state that SMS has resulted in fewer accidents. SMS makes the railways and employees more accountable for safety, rather than depending on periodic federal inspections, and it makes sense that it would make the railways safer. Transport Canada still provides the regulations.

There's also a CTV story on the conference. CBC has an update on the conference and the class action suit(s).

There is a web site set up to express condolences to the family and friends of the crew: http://www.viatrain92.com/

Fuming

Event recorder in VIA 6429

The Star is reporting that lawyers Harvey and Sharon Strosberg have filed a class-action suit against VIA and CN for $10 million in general damages from the recent VIA accident.

These specialists in class action suits are experienced in such matters, according to the National Post, as they pressed a suit against VIA and CN for a derailment in 1999 near Thamesville, Ontario. According to the TSB report, VIA 74 ran through switches lined and locked for the reverse position. I remember this accident and the TSB report makes it clear that CN was negligent. (TSB = Transportation Safety Board)

The National Post article says Ms. "Strosberg said her office had received a handful of calls from passengers." I wonder how they got their number?

People are entitled to some compensation based on the level of inconvenience or injury, but I find it repulsive that the suit was filed two days after the accident. I'm not a lawyer but surely some finding of fault from the TSB should take place before a suit is filed.

Speaking of the TSB, they have deployed a team and have the "black box" (it's red) and are already investigating. The investigator in charge is Tom Griffith, a very experienced investigator with the TSB who also has considerable rail experience. He's quoted several times in this CBC story.

The Star has a vivid video of VIA 6444 being righted.

VIA Accident in Ontario

VIA train 92 derailed in southern Ontario at speed at about 3:30 PM today, and in the ensuing crash, three VIA Rail engineers lost their lives. I feel terrible for their families and friends.

CBC is reporting that the train was carrying 75 people when it derailed. VIA 6444, the only engine, toppled over and appears to have extensive cab damage. It appears to me that there were five LRC cars and three of them went over on their sides, with the lead car striking a building. VIA Rail is reporting that three passengers were airlifted to hospital, and 42 passengers and a fourth VIA engineer were taken to local hospitals.

The accident appears to have happened near here. The Globe and Mail has some aerial video and this aerial photo:

Aerial photo of VIA 92 crash, from Globe and Mail online article

The National Post has some large high resolution photos of the scene.

Walter Pfefferle has a photo of VIA 6444 from February 15. I only saw it once, on November 17 2011 here in Winnipeg.


My condolences to everyone affected by this tragedy. It's a somber reminder of the dangers that train crews face every day.

EDIT: CBC reported that the three engineers who died were Ken Simmonds, age 56; Peter Snarr, age 52; and trainee Patrick Robinson, age 40. Mr. Simmonds and Mr. Snarr were based in Toronto and Mr. Robinson was from Cornwall. The first two engineers were long time VIA veterans, and Mr. Robinson was an experienced engineer but had only been with VIA since last October.

Alcohol, Pot and Phones

Two train accidents were in the news today. The first involved alcohol... ethanol specifically. An Iowa Interstate Railroad train derailed 26 cars of its 131-car train near Tiskilwa, Illinois west of Chicago. Seven tank cars of ethanol burned. The company issued a press release (PDF) indicating that there were no injuries, and that one tank car is still burning. (CBC)

The second accident in the news apparently involved pot - marijuana. The Canadian Transportation Safety Board issued a report (PDF) on the March 3, 2010 collision between two trains near Golden, BC. I reported on it. The TSB report says that one westbound train was leaving the Golden yard when an eastbound train ran past a stop signal and struck the other train.

Where do the pot and the phones come in? Well, the crew on the eastbound train were reported to have been using their cellphones frequently during their trip, and one was used a minute before the collision. This is reminiscent of the 2009 Metrorail crash. Fortunately in the CP crash, noone was (initally) injured. Apparently the locomotive engineer had been in the presence of marijuana recently and was concerned that it would show up on the mandatory post-accident drug test, so he consumed 10L of water after the accident to try to dilute the results. This caused hyponetremia (water intoxication) and he was airlifted to a hospital. The drug test was inconclusive. (CBC)

I don't know the effects of pot, having never used it, but it stands to reason that you shouldn't operate heavy machinery after using it... and of course cell phone bans were already in place on Canadian Pacific prior to this accident. Don't text and drive!

Death on the Tracks

Rick McColl, a track maintenance engineer with CN, was struck and killed by VIA #51 near Guildwood station in Pickering, Ontario yesterday at 1:10 PM. The accident happened next to highway 401 between Liverpool Road and Whites Road.

It appears that Mr. McColl and his coworker believed they had a 15-20 minute window to perform maintenance on the track. When VIA 51 rapidly approached, Mr. McColl ran south and his coworker ran north.

Passengers waited for nearly two hours before being bussed to their destination. Service resumed on the line around 5 PM.

The temptation is to speculate on whose fault it is, but I won't do that. An investigation will turn that up soon enough.

The incident was widely covered in local media. The most depressing report is this, from CTV News, featuring passengers complaining about the delay. C'mon, a man has died, have some patience!

Mr. McColl had 32 years with CN, and was 53. My condolences to his family and friends.

What is it With Trucks and Amtrak Trains?

On Monday a trash truck plowed through a crossing and hit the Amtrak Downeaster in North Berwick, Maine (Story) Unfortunately the driver was killed, but noone on the train was seriously injured.

This follows the truck slamming into the California Zephyr late last month in which the truck driver, the train's conductor and four others on the train were killed.

What a strange, and tragic, coincidence. Is this some kind of weird terrorist plot or something? Let's hope there aren't any more grade crossing accidents for a while.

Regrets

The CBC is reporting that a man was struck and killed by a train at the CN Waverley street crossing early this morning around 4 AM. The article reported that the CN main line (Rivers subdivision) was shut down for almost 8 hours afterward.

The Winnipeg Free Press reports that it was 3:41 AM, and the police were investigating behind the car wash just a few hundred feet east of St. James Junction. This is right where the BNSF line joins the CN main line - here.

There are a lot of people who cross the tracks at or near St. James Junction. I feel bad for the person who was killed, his family and friends, and for the crew of the train that hit him.

EDIT: It appears the victim was Ian Larson. Rest in peace.

Dugald Tank Car Incident Report

This story is getting some exposure here in Winnipeg. The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) released a report on a tank car incident at Dugald, MB in January 2009.

Basically the end sill (including the coupler) tore off the end of tank car UTLX 37605 when CN 304 was starting to pull. Essentially this is a broken knuckle issue, except that instead of a broken knuckle, a piece of the tank car pulled off. The train went into emergency as expected, there was no derailment and no release of hazardous materials. The issue is that the end sill was known to be damaged and the car should never have been on that train.

The report has some interesting reading. Union Pacific noted the sill was cracked back in mid November. A temporary weld was made and the car was to be handled only as the last car in a train, and not to be humped. When it crossed the border into Canada, that note was lost and the car was handled many times. It was supposed to go to Procor for repair but it appears that instruction was also lost.

This conclusion is particularly damning: "Deficiencies in Canadian National's (CN) waybilling and car tracking systems permitted tank car UTLX 37605 to be placed on 6 different trains, switched at least 13 times and humped 7 times with a severely damaged and cracked A-end stub sill."

I think CN is fortunate that the accident happened at such a low speed and there was no release of product. Hopefully corrective actions have been taken and this type of event will not happen again.

Truck Collides With Train

I'm late on reporting this one. I was out of town when it occurred and more details are still coming out.

A garbage truck drove into the side of a southbound CP train at Leclaire Road south of Winnipeg in the regional municipality of Ritchtot (here on Google Maps). This is the CP Emerson subdivision connecting Winnipeg with the United States, and it sees a fair amount of rail traffic. It is a few km from my house and I can hear the CP crews blow the horns several times a day.

News articles state the truck was proceeding east when it struck the train at 7 AM Monday. The truck driver had the sun in his eyes, no doubt, but the road and the rail line are both dead straight there and the view should be unobstructed. Photos show no crossbucks and the article calls the crossing "uncontrolled". There is a crossing warning sign.

The driver was taken to hospital with "non-life threatening injuries". News articles state he was 43 years old and suffered a broken arm.

The truck (owned by Johnson Waste Management) actually drove into the side of the second locomotive, SOO 6041, just behind the cab. The train had 86 cars, 26 of which were empty. News articles mention sulphuric acid and sulphur were on the train, but photos show a double-stack container car beside the wrecked truck. About 4000l of diesel fuel leaked from the SOO engine. Articles state 10-12 cars were derailed, and judging by the photos and video, most if not all were container platforms. It looks like the train separated several cars behind the engines.

The rail line was back in service by 10 AM Tuesday.

There is an excellent Global video report.

Articles: Canoe, Winnipeg Free Press, CBC, CJOB (with audio), CTV, Winnipeg Sun, Global TV.