FORT MACLEOD, Alberta — Forty-three cars of a Canadian Pacific potash train derailed Sunday morning, CTV News reports. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the incident occurred about 8:15 a.m. east of Fort Macleoad and about 170 kilometers (105 miles) south of Calgary. No injuries were reported and there was no public safety hazard from […]
Zone & Region: Canada
Canadian National hires search firm to find French-speaking board member
MONTREAL — Canadian National has hired a Montreal-based search firm to help find a French-speaking member for its board of directors, the railroad has announced. The announcement came as part of a Friday statement announcing the election of a new board chairwoman and 10 other board members. New board chairwoman Shauneen Bruder said the railroad […]
VIA Rail Canada CEO Garneau resigns
MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada CEO Cynthia Garneau has resigned, Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra has announced. The resignation was announced and effective on Friday, May 20. “I would like to thank Ms. Garneau for her service,” Alghabra said in a statement, “and her work over the past three years in contributing to the modernization […]
Foundation releases new proposal for Vancouver Island rail service
VICTORIA, British Columbia — The Island Corridor Foundation, the non-profit organization which owns the former Esquimalt & Nanaimo rail line on Vancouver Island, has proposed a C$431 plan to for a commuter and freight rail service between Victoria and Courtenay, B.C. The Victoria Times Colonist reports the foundation is seeking government support for a business […]
Canadian rule changes seek to address train runaways
OTTAWA — Transport Canada has announced regulatory revisions to address issues involving runaway trains and equipment. Changes to the Canadian Rail Operating Rules and Locomotive Inspection and Safety Rules will set performance standards for locomotives equipped with rollaway protection, designed to automatically apply brakes when there is unintended movement; requirements before leaving a locomotive, such […]
Quebec pension fund may protest CN’s lack of French-speaking board members
MONTREAL — Quebec’s pension fund may withhold support from some members of Canadian National’s board of directors to protest the lack of French-speaking board members, Reuters reports. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec — CN’s 10th-largest shareholder — is considering the move, a source told the news service, after previously criticizing a move that […]
Dates set for hearings on Ottawa light rail problems
OTTAWA — Public hearings into Ottawa’s troubled light rail system will be held June 13 to July 8, a commission established to examine the system has announced. The Ottawa Light Rail Transit Public Inquiry will hold the hearings in a courtroom at the University of Ottawa’s law school, the Ottawa Citizen reports, and will be […]
CN criticized for lack of French-speaking board members
OTTAWA, Ontario — Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra has criticized Canadian National Railway Co. for maintaining an English-speaking-only board of directors in a bilingual nation where 7.9 million citizens – 22% of the population – speak French as their first language. “It’s unacceptable that the board of directors does not have a francophone representative on […]
Canadian regulators propose more detailed requirements for reporting railroad performance metrics
OTTAWA, Ontario – Class I railroads operating in Canada would be required to report additional performance and staffing metrics under a proposal Canadian regulators unveiled on Friday. Transport Canada’s move was announced on the same day that the Surface Transportation Board said it will temporarily require the big railroads to provide more detailed operational and […]
ATCO to build hydrogen facilities for Canadian Pacific
CALGARY — ATCO Group will build two hydrogen production and refueling facilities for Canadian Pacific’s program developing hydrogen fuel-cell locomotives, ATCO announced. The facilities in Calgary and Edmonton will each include a 1 megawatt electrolyzer, compression, storage, and fuel dispensing. The Calgary facility will be powered in part by a solar power facility at CP’s […]
Derailment blocks highway in New Brunswick
HARVEY STATION, New Brunswick — Ten cars of a New Brunswick Southern Railway train derailed early Thursday in the village of Harvey Station, blocking provincial Route 3, the CBC reports. Harvey Fire Department Chief Jerrard Swan said firefighters were informed of the accident about 5 a.m., and that 10 cars were involved. Only one was […]
Major changes planned for Montreal light rail project
MONTREAL — The province of Quebec and city of Montreal will take over a controversial light rail project after the province’s pension-fund manager withdrew from the project, and will make major revisions to what had been a proposed C$10 billion, 20-mile system. The Montreal Gazette reports Quebec Premier Francois Legault and Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante […]