FIELD, British Columbia — Three Canadian Pacific employees are dead after an early-morning wreck east of Field.
According to media reports, a westbound grain train derailed while descending Kicking Horse Pass at approximately 1 a.m. Monday. Between 30 and 40 cars derailed and at least one locomotive ended up in the Kicking Horse River.
The identities of the three crew members killed have not been released.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has deployed a team of investigators to the scene of the wreck.
In a statement to CBC News, CP officials said, “Our condolences and prayers go out to their families, friends and colleagues. A full investigation will take place to determine the cause of this incident.”
This week’s wreck comes a month after another derailment in the nearby Spiral Tunnels. That incident closed the CP main line through Yoho National Park for two days.
The last I heard was that 99 freight cars had derailed, out of 112, and all of the locomotives. A very sad incident that cost three men their lives.
My condolences to the families of the crew members who perished.
This is not the steepest part of Kicking Horse Pass (an area through which I have passed many times). In the steam era there were runaway turnouts and the practice was to keep the turnout aligned to the runaway track until the crew of the descending train signaled that they did in fact have control of the train.
This is also not to imply that the derailment was caused by a runaway. There may have been other factors, it is too early to know for sure. But I do know one thing about this stretch. If you leave the rails (or the road, for that matter) for any reason, you will end up in the river. There is simply no where else to go.
The above comments are general in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Find your own damn lawyer.
My condolences to the families involved.