Sylvie Paillard
[email protected]
A CN Rail train car carrying pulp derailed in the Squamish estuary at 10:45 p.m. Sunday (April 23) on its way to Squamish Terminals industrial port.
But the accident did not cause grave concern among CN officials.
"It's a pretty minor incident," said CN spokesperson Graham Dallas. "One car loaded with pulp left the tracks, remained upright on the track bed, no injuries or danger to the environment, the public or the car. By Monday it was re-railed and operations were back to normal."
Dallas added that CN continues to practice as safely as possible.
"Certainly we understand that there are sensitivities about rail operations in Squamish," he said. "We're doing everything we can to assure that our rail operations are safe."
The incident occurred six weeks after Transport Canada relaxed the safety measures in the Squamish corridor imposed on CN following a series of derailments in 2005, one of which resulted in an environmental disaster when caustic soda was spilled into the Cheakamus River.
On March 7, Transport Canada announced it had allowed CN to increase the length of their distributed power operated northbound trains from 99 cars to a maximum of 114 cars.
This action followed completion of CN's 60-day trial period on the rail line on February 11.
During the 60-day trial period, CN had to abide by safety requirements to demonstrate they could operate safely on the Squamish route.
Transport Canada inspectors monitored their operations and no incidents occurred, according to a Transport Canada news release. Transport Canada is investigating the latest derailment, but will not reinstate the strict safety measures.
"I think we'd say overall we are [satisfied with CN] because we've put in a number of safety restrictions, and they've followed through on them," said Transport Canada spokesperson Rod Nelson.
An investigation into the derailment continues, but speed is not a high consideration since the accident occurred in the train yard where loading and unloading occurs, according to Nelson.
