PETTI FONG
With a report from Canadian Press

VANCOUVER -- Two long-time railway workers died and a third was in hospital yesterday after another CN Rail train derailment, this time in the Fraser Canyon.

The men died at the scene of the derailment Thursday about 40 kilometres north of Lillooet. One locomotive and a car carrying lumber slid about 300 metres down a cliff.

Transportation Safety Board of Canada spokesman Christian Plouffe said an investigator began interviewing witnesses and the survivors yesterday to determine whether to launch an official probe of the causes of the derailment.

"We know it started during a switching operation and that one locomotive and one car that derailed went down but didn't reach the river. Both caught fire," Mr. Plouffe said.

Last year, CN had a number of high-profile track derailments, including an ecologically disastrous spill of 40,000 litres of caustic soda into the Cheakamus Canyon near Squamish that killed thousands of salmon and trout.

Main-line derailments at CN in Canada were up 35 per cent in 2005 from the year before, according to a report from the transportation board. The derailments last year on CN tracks in B.C. were double the five-year average of six derailments a year that B.C. Rail had prior to 2004. The provincial government sold operations of B.C. Rail to CN in 2004.

Provincial NDP transportation critic David Chudnovsky (Vancouver-Kensington) said yesterday that the latest derailment is just one of a string of accidents since CN took over.

The New Democratic Party has asked federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon to carry out a public investigation into CN operations and for B.C. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon to release any information about safety concerns that arose during privatization talks with CN.

"We've been asking for action for months and both provincially and federally they've been very timid of CN," Mr. Chudnovsky said. "I've spoken to a number of employees at CN who reported to me that safety and maintenance procedures have changed dramatically since CN has taken over the line."

In a statement yesterday, Mr. Cannon said any safety deficiencies identified by safety board investigators or Transport Canada will be addressed immediately. "In addition, as a standard response to this type of accident, the department will verify that the company continues to comply with all aspects of the Railway Safety Act and the Canada Labour Code," he said.

Mr. Cannon also extended Ottawa's condolences "to the families of the two CN employees killed in this tragic accident. Our thoughts are also with the injured employee and his family."

One of the men who died was Don Faulkner, 59, of Savona, 32 kilometres west Kamloops.

He had brought up concerns about safety on the line, his friend John Holliday said yesterday. The other victim was Tom Dodd, 55, of Lillooet.

Both were long-time B.C. Rail workers with 20 years of experience each.

The injured crew member was in stable condition in hospital.

Mr. Holliday, the local chairman of United Transportation Union local 1778, which represents the CN workers, said members are angry because many believe the accident could have been prevented.

Although CN's investigation is still in its early stages, Mr. Holliday said yesterday that preliminary information seems to indicate brake failure. The men tried to exit the train after the car broke away from the engine because of a sharp curve that forced it off the track.

"We think CN's safety record is a little shaky and we're concerned. I don't want to be too spiteful but there have been some growing pains," he said. "Our members are upset because these were their brothers. They were hard-working family members and very good railroaders."

CN spokesman Jim Feeny said it is too early to determine what happened. The derailment occurred on one of the former B.C. Rail lines that CN has taken over.

Two employees were killed in another derailment in 2003 when a bridge collapsed near McBride on the Yellowhead Highway. In December of 2005, CN pleaded guilty to failing to properly keep records of maintenance and inspection work on the bridge and paid a $75,000 fine.

Lillooet Mayor Christ'l Roshard said this week's derailment illustrates the dangers faced by two subdivisions below the railway line. The town of 2,800 residents was devastated by the sale of B.C. Rail to CN, which led to the loss of 40 jobs.

"We've voiced our concerns many times about CN Rail. Following the sale of B.C. Rail there seems to have been an inordinate amount of derailments in the last couple of years," Ms. Roshard said.

"Our concerns became much greater after the Cheakamus spill. It became very apparent to everyone that it could happen everywhere. If something like that happened and a load of chlorine tipped down into the river, what the heck would we do?"

The majority of the railway tracks run along a watercourse and Ms. Roshard said the damage would have been substantial if the derailment had been carrying hazardous cargo that made its way into the Fraser River.

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