CN promises changes to increase safety on former B.C. Rail line

The Brandon Sun
Tue. Nov. 1 2005


VICTORIA (CP) - CN Rail has promised to change its operations on the former B.C. Rail line from Vancouver to Prince George in a bid to minimize the chance of more derailments.

The promise followed a meeting Tuesday at the B.C. legislature between a top CN official and the province's transportation and environment ministers. It comes after a pair of derailments in the Cheakamus Canyon, near Squamish.

"What I didn't want to hear from CN was that it was going to be business as usual on that line," said Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon. "Our tone was very clear. This is unacceptable."

Peter Marshall, CN's senior vice-president for Western Canada, defended the railway's safety record.

"We pride ourselves on being the safest railroad in North America and we need to demonstrate that on an ongoing basis here," he said.

Falcon said the government wants to demonstrate that it is taking every step to minimize, if not eliminate, derailments in the future.

"The reality of the rail business is that there are derailments. It happens with every single railway," said Falcon.

CN has agreed a number of operational changes, including placing locomotives in the middle of trains, especially those made up of empty rail cars. In addition, CN is stepping up track inspections and improving staff training and internal safety audits.

A Transportation Safety Board has yet to report on its investigation into the first derailment on Aug. 5 that spilled sodium hydroxide into the Cheakamus River, killing most of the fish down river.

Last week the board issued a safety advisory for CN Rail trains travelling through the steep and curved area near Squamish in response to the derailment in August.

The board said the safety advisory was issued to make sure CN's regulations are adequate for the sharp turns and steep grades in the area.

Last week, just five kilometres from the first accident, 10 empty rail cars jumped the tracks. The derailment caused little damage.

The safety board has said investigators suspect a similar situation may have been the cause of both derailments.

Falcon said there was a recognition at the meeting "that this is challenging geography and topography for CN so they will be putting some increased focus on that line."

Falcon also said CN has been running longer trains on the former B.C. Rail line, but cautioned against reading too much into that.

"I think it's very important not to try to make the association between train length and the derailment issue."

NDP transportation critic David Chudnovsky wrote to Falcon within days of the spill in August, asking that he work with his federal counterpart to require CN to shorten its trains until the Transportation Safety Board investigation was complete.

He said there are preliminary indications from the investigation that train length may have contributed to the derailment.

"The train that derailed was 9,700 feet long, almost two miles long," he said.

"What we don't need is polite chats between this minister and CN. What we need is action."

Environment Minister Barry Penner said CN remains fully responsible for the costs of the cleanup and the costs of the fish stock recovery. Salmon, steelhead and trout stocks were all affected.

"It could take a matter of years to recover those fish stocks and that could be an expensive exercise," he said. "The commitment I got from CN is that they're going to play their part in paying for that recovery."

So far, Penner said the cleanup alone has cost about $100,000 and the bill is going to CN Rail.

The B.C. Environment Ministry is also co-operating with federal environment officials on an active investigation into the spill.

© The Brandon Sun 2005