More CN Derailments
At least 25 Canadian National Railway cars in a 116-car train derailed March 27, 2011 just east of Port Hope, Ontario. The derailment, considered “significant”, occurred on a main line and included spills of dangerous goods, jet fuel and propane. Booms were required to contain the spills. A fire broke out and a “Red Alert” was issued through Emergency Management Ontario. A Red Alert means there is “a major risk to health, safety and security”. Families from 20 houses were forced to flee their homes. The rail corridor was also shut down. See coverage in CBC News, Toronto Star, Northumberland News, The Province, and Edmonton Journal.
Although CN public relations staff tried to downplay the accident, this is but one more in a long string of CN derailments and spills within a very short period of time. Just within the month of February alone, there have been numerous CN derailments including the following:
- Kennedy Siding in Pine Pass, B.C. – 16 propane cars – end of February
- Fort Fraser, B.C. – 36 coal cars derail – February 12
- Mussey Township, St. Clair County, Michigan – 4 derailed cars, ammonia nitrate spilled – February 7
Following are additional recent CN derailments:
- Derailments caused by too long trains – See this Railroaded post
- Many CN derailments between September 28, 2010 and January 7, 2011 – See this Railroaded post
- More CN derailments prior to September 28, 2010 – See many posts under Railroaded’s “News Link”
- CN derailments at Scotford Yard – See this Railroaded post
Considering all of these derailments and spills by Canadian National Railway, one would hope that CN’s plans to ship more petroleum products by rail will not be seriously considered or permitted by industry or the Transportation Safety Board of Canada .
For more on CN derailments see this link.
Railroaded's Blog 