Stephen C. Host
Transport Canada issues new rules as a result of Goderich, Ontario, derailment
Transport Canada is issuing new rules regarding air brakes as a result of last month’s derailment of a train in Goderich, Ontario. The CBC reports the update to the Railway Safety Act announced by Transport Minister Omar Alghabra are intended to reduce the risk of uncontrolled movement of rail equipment. They follow the Feb. 1 derailment of a Goderich-Exeter Railway which apparently ran away on a steep grade leading to the city’s harbor, sending locomotives and cars off the track and destroying a vehicle and a shed [see “Digest: Canadian short line train derails …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 2, 2021.] A spokeswoman said that while the incident is still under investigation, it appears to have similar features to a Nov. 29, 2016 Canadian Pacific derailment near Estevan, Saskatchewan. In both cases, the incidents occurred after the engineer stopped the locomotive and left the cab; the new rules will require engineers to follow “specific procedures” to prevent uncontrolled movement, although details were not immediately available, as well as “an additional layer of defense” to inspection and operation of locomotives. A press release including links to the specific orders is available here.
Rocky Mountaineer delays start of Canadian season, adds to U.S. schedule
Luxury rail tour company Rocky Mountaineer is delaying the start of its Canadian season by a month to June 1, while adding four weeks to its planned inaugural season of operation in Colorado and Utah. Travel Pulse Canada reports Rocky Mountainer founder and interim CEO Peter Armstrong said the move in Canada reflects continued uncertainty over when the Canadian and provincial governments will lift travel restrictions that continue to prevent operation. In the U.S., the “Rockies to Red Rocks” service between Denver and Moab, Utah, is scheduled to begin Aug. 15 and will now run to Nov. 19, representing an addition of 16 departure dates. Other dates will have more railcars added to increase capacity. Visit the Rocky Mountaineer website for more information.
NTSB sets new date for ‘Most Wanted List’ meeting
The National Transportation Safety Board has rescheduled its meeting to finalize its 2021-22 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements to April 6 at 9:30 a.m. EDT. The list is used to promote the agency’s top priorities for changes that can prevent accidents, reduce injuries, and save lives. The meeting will be held online to comply with open-meeting requirements and COVID-19 guidelines, and is a public meeting to address a General Accounting Office report seeking more transparency in how the list is developed. The meeting was original scheduled for March 9 but was postponed to allow the agency to refine the proposed list.
It’s hard to believe but the new news wire manages to be worse than the old one. It’s hard to see the items for today and that d*mn digital subsciption thing won’t go away.