The Transportation Saftey Board (TSB) released its long awaited investigation report into the CN Rail derailment of Aug. 4, 2005 at the Sea to Sky Hotel Wednesday (July 11).
TSB director of investigation for rail accidents Ian Naish, board chair Wendy Tadros, and lead investigator George Fowler held a press conference at the hotel for a horde of media organizations from across the country to discuss details of the TSB's report on the derailment that resulted in 41,000 litres of caustic soda spilling into the Cheakamus River, killing 500,000 fish.According to the report, the derailment was caused by a malfunction in two locomotives set up in the middle of the train as well as poor communication between two separate crews and an inefficient alarm system.
"The remote locomotives were improperly set up on August 4 [2005] before they left North Vancouver," said TSB lead investigator George Fowler.
Shortly after leaving for Squamish, an alarm sounded and the train's automatic system tried to bring the two remote engines online. After three attempts the engines were automatically shut down. According to Fowler, while an alarm did sound, the engineers could not tell what the specific problem was.
"The alarm could indicate one of 500 different problems or more," said Fowler.
The train's crew did not experience any unusual difficulties during their trip north, states the report, and when crews were changed in Squamish the new engineer was not told that an alarm had sounded.
When the train crossed through the Cheakamus Canyon the inoperative state of the two remote cars forced the engineer to increase power from the front of the train.
The TSB found the ratio of this added power, coupled with length of the train - 144 cars - and the relative lightness of the cars, caused the train to derail, sending nine cars into the canyon.
TSB chair Wendy Tadros said that proper marshalling of train cars and a more effective alarm system would help prevent accidents of this nature.
CN has already implemented increased mechanical and terrain training for its workers, according tot he report. And the maximum number of train cars allowed has been reduced to 80 on the northbound trains and 114 on southbound.Council will meet Tuesday (July 17) to discuss whether or not to take legal action against CN Rail, following the release of the Transportation Safety Board's final report on the Cheakamus Canyon derailment in 2005.
"It's something that we will have to discuss as a council," said acting mayor Corinne Lonsdale. "One would have to ask what we would be expecting to gain from legal action."
Lonsdale said that to her knowledge CN has been paying for all direct costs caused by the accident which sent caustic soda into the Cheakamus River and killed 500,000 fish. However, Lonsdale said CN has not paid any punitive damages.
"This spill seriously impacted the enjoyment of the river for many tourists, outdoor enthusiasts and local outdoor recreation businesses who make their living off of the river," said Lonsdale.
"I think that the district should definitely take legal action," said John Buchanan of the Cheakamus River Recovery Team with 21 years experience in the rail industry.
"But they should go after the province and not CN," said Buchanan. "It was their irresponsible actions in the sale of B.C. Rail that led to this."
Buchanan said he was frustrated that the report only looked at the derailment itself and had very little to say about the incidents long-term environmental impact.
On Wednesday (July 11) the Vancouver Sun reported a fisheries researcher with the University of B.C. claimed that the Cheakamus spill would benefit fish stocks in the long term. According to UBC's John Korman the spill eliminated predators of salmon fry allowing more juvenile fish to survive.
"That's a pretty ridiculous theory," said Buchanan. "We won't know the long term effects of this for years."
Lonsdale also expressed concern that the TSB's report is non-binding and neither Transport Canada nor CN are legally obligated to act on the findings. MP Blair Wilson also expressed concern about the TSB's inability to enforce their findings.
"They used to give out recommendations and by law a company had 90 days to respond to those recommendations," said Wilson. "No they give out findings and there is no obligation.
"There needs to be some level of enforcement."
The report led to calls in Parliament for the Harper government to update the Railway Safety Act.
"I will be urging the [transport] committee to call for an updated and strengthened Railway Safety Act," said North Vancouver MP Don Bell.
"From the moment that BC Rail was bought by CN in 2004 there have been questions about CN's operational and safety practices in B.C., one of the world's most challenging and potentially dangerous environments for Rail operation.
