OTTAWA, Ontario — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has documented track and ballast damage resulting from the derailment of an O-Train Confederation Line light rail train on Sept. 19, providing additional indications that the train had derailed prior to leaving the Tremblay Station.
The derailment has led to closure of the Confederation Line, while Ottawa’s city council considers next steps including legal action and measures to regain rider confidence in the troubled rail line [see “Ottawa light rail system faces extended shutdown,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 4, 2021].
The TSB had previously indicated one truck of the trainset had derailed before the train finally halted about 400 meters beyond the station, according to a CBC report. In an update, the agency reports a walking inspection of the route has found that ballast had been disturbed and impact damage was visible to the track structure between Tremblay and the train’s previous stop at the St. Laurent station.
The inspection also found damage to the platform at Tremblay, as well as a damaged signal mast and switch heater near the spot where the train finally halted.
The agency said the next steps in the investigation include removal of the derailed truck from LRV No. 1121, followed by a detailed teardown examination , as well as examination of all recovered components and wreckage.
It may be time that some kind of derailment sensor be developed to go on passenger car trucks ? Of course not all derailments can be anticipated but this derailment and the EB certainly could have been noted.
At 1:1 scale, a derailment is damaging, dangerous and expensive. Lawsuits would result from any injury and death of real people unlike a derailment in 1:87 scale.