CALGARY, Alberta — Track that buckled in an area of deteriorated structure led to the derailment of 41 cars of a Canadian Pacific train near Bassano, Alb., on July 13, 2022, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an investigation report released today (Jan. 22, 2025).
The 11,758-foot, 29,021-ton train had five locomotives — two at the head end, two midtrain, and one at the rear — and 203 loaded grain hoppers and was en route to Vancouver when it derailed at about 4:18 p.m. The train was traveling at 44 mph when an emergency brake application occurred, and the crew determined that the cars in positions 116-132 and 135-158 had derailed. No one was injured, and no fire resulted; grain was spilled from 39 of the 41 cars.
The TSB’s investigation found that track in the vicinity showed signs of deterioration including contaminated and worn ballast; skewed, worn, and plate-cut ties; rail creep through anchors and spikes; lifted spikes; and missing or loose anchoring. Urgent defects had been detected in the area on July 7 by an autonomous track-inspection car, leading to a 10-mph slow order while repairs were made on July 8 and July 10, after which the slow order was raised to 25 mph on July 10, then cancelled July 11.
The derailment occurred on a day with a high temperature of 25.4 degrees Celsius (78 Fahrenheit) during a 10-day period when temperatures had ranged from 6.7 Celsius (44.1 Fahrenheit) to 31.6 Celsius (88.9 Fahrenheit). While video from the train’s lead locomotive showed no signs of a track defect when the train passed the point of the derailment, video from the mid-train locomotive showed a noticeable side-to-side sway, which the TSB supports a determination that the track had buckled under the train. The condition of track structure in the vicinity made the track more susceptible to buckling, the TSB found, and the location had other risk factors known to increase the likelihood of buckling,
Elements associated to rapid deterioration of track structure — use by longer, heavier unit trains and increased traffic volume — were present both in this incident and other investigations, the TSB said, and called for more proactive risk management.
In response to the incident, CP took measures including conducting a track renewal program; requiring engineering managers to ride a train to evaluate track condition once a month from August 2022 to the end of the year; changing training for supervisors of track inspection and issuing a safety bulletin with clearer instructions for when rail temperature exceeds the preferred measurement.
Running a train that size is just plain stupid.
“…an area of deteriorated structure….” This reminds me of a section of CSX track in Savannah, GA, I reported to the FRA. At least 14 ties in a row with missing spikes, loose spikes and non-existent ties. There were two joints in the middle of this section to boot.
Freights were travelling at least 40 MPH across the section of track. Loaded scrap gons depressed the track about 3 inches.
The FRA inspector later contacted me and thanked me for calling this in. Multiple serious defects in the area were also detected. As a result of the inspection, CSX had crews out repairing the defects the next day.
The only thing that kept the rails from rolling was the grade crossing immediately to the north of the defective track.
One wonders how long the defect would have continued if the defect was not close to a roadway crossing.