RICHMOND HILL, Ontario — A complex series of factors led to a string-line derailment that killed a Canadian National crew member in an August 15, 2019, derailment at MacMillan Yard in Vaughan, Ontario, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an accident report released this week. The worker, who was operating a remote-control locomotive […]
Zone & Region: Canada
News photo: CN’s new CEO hits the rails
WOODSTOCK, Ontario — A Canadian National executive special carrying new CEO Tracy Robinson and other managers passes through Woodstock, Ontario, this morning (Thursday, April 7). The train with two locomotives and four business cars is en route from Brampton Intermodal Terminal, near Toronto, to Chicago. It is expected to pass through Michigan and arrive in […]
Five members reappointed to VIA Rail Canada board
OTTAWA — Canada’s Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, has reappointed five members of the VIA Rail Canada board of directors. Reappointed were chairwoman Francoise Bertrand of Montreal, for a term of 18 months; directors Jonathan Franklin Goldbloom (Montreal) and Gail Louise Stephens (Victoria, British Columbia), for four-year terms; Naella-Kathy Baig of Montreal, for three years; […]
CN to work with Port of Montreal on new container terminal
MONTREAL — The Montreal Port Authority and Canadian National will work together to develop rail facilities at the port’s new Contrecœur container terminal, the port and railroad have announced. Along with the private firm that will build and operate the terminal, the railroad and port develop the technical aspects of the intermodal facility. A CN […]
Rail issues lead to cutbacks by Canadian forest products company
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Forest products company Canfor will cut production at sawmills in Western Canada because of “extreme supply chain challenges” relating to rail service, the news site Business in Vancouver reports. Subsidiary Canfor Pulp Produces had previously announced it would continue to curtail production at its plant in Taylor, B.C., for at least […]
Safety board issues findings and recommendations after probe of fatal CP runaway (Updated)
CALGARY, Alberta — The degradation of air brakes in extreme cold, the limited effectiveness of current train brake tests, and inadequate training and experience of supervisory personnel contributed to the 2019 Canadian Pacific grain train runaway and derailment that killed three crew members in British Columbia’s Kicking Horse Pass. That’s the conclusion of the Transportation […]
Transportation Safety Board of Canada set to release report on fatal CP derailment
CALGARY — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada will release its investigation report Thursday on the February 2019 derailment of a runaway Canadian Pacific train near Field, British Columbia, that killed three crew members. The agency is set to release the report and hold a press conference on its findings in Calgary. The press conference […]
Manitoba announces plan for rail park at inland port
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Province of Manitoba has announced an agreement with a major real estate developer for a 665-acre, rail-served industrial park as part of an existing inland port. Focus Equities Inc. will build the CentrePort Canada Rail Park as part of the 20,000-acre CentrePort Canada in the Rural Municipality of Rosser, northwest of […]
Completion of Lac-Mégantic bypass to be delayed
LAC-MÉGANTIC, Quebec — The Lac-Mégantic bypass will not be completed by its 2023 target date after the Canadian government extended the period for negotiations with landowners, Omar Alghabra, Canada’s transport minister, has announced. In a March 24 statement, Alghabra said the negotiation period has been extended until Aug. 12, 2022, at the request of the […]
Canadian Pacific, union agree to arbitration, ending work stoppage
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference have agreed to take their contract dispute to binding arbitration, ending the shutdown of the railroad in Canada that began at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sunday. The agreement will allow the railroad to resume operations in Canada today (Tuesday, March 22, 2022) after a […]
Track defect went unrepaired before CN derailment, investigation finds
GATINEAU, Quebec — A “near-urgent” track defect was detected but not repaired several days prior to the June 2021 derailment of a Canadian National train at a remote location on the railroad’s Chetwynd Subdivision in British Columbia, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an investigation report released Monday. Thirty-eight cars of a two-engine, […]
Toronto Railway Museum receives $50,000 grant
TORONTO — The Toronto Railway Museum has received a $50,000 Community Building Fund grant from the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Trillium Foundation, helping the museum to continue to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is being used to assist with audiovisual equipment and operating costs to improve the museum’s online program, including development […]