CN Railway Hinton Disaster 25 Years Ago

On February 8 it will be 25 years ago that one of the most lethal rail disasters occurred in Canadian history. February 8, 1986, a CN freight train ran a stop signal and collided head on with a Via passenger train just east of Hinton, Alberta. The accident killed 23 passengers and crew, and another 95 people were injured. See story in this Edmonton Journal article and editorial.

A Commission of Inquiry indicated several human errors at the root of the accident, and investigations revealed serious flaws in CN’s employee practices.

Still today, CN derailments and other accidents are frequent due to breaches of railway operating rules, safety rules, policies, guidelines, and even legislation. For more on CN derailments see this link.

~ by railroaded on February 7, 2011.