MEC&F Expert Engineers : OH! CANADA! ANOTHER CRUDE OIL TRAIN DERAILS, IGNITES 7 CARS ON FIRE IN CANADA, NEAR TIMMINS, ONTARIO.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

OH! CANADA! ANOTHER CRUDE OIL TRAIN DERAILS, IGNITES 7 CARS ON FIRE IN CANADA, NEAR TIMMINS, ONTARIO.








FEBRUARY 15, 2015




TIMMINS, ONTARIO, CANADA




No injuries have been reported after a crude oil train derailed and caught fire near Timmins, Ont. late Saturday night.




The eastbound CN Rail train came off the tracks approximately 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of Timmins shortly before midnight, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said Sunday in a statement.




The derailment occurred on a stretch of rail between Gogama and Foleyet, in an extremely remote area that cannot be accessed by road, provincial police said.



"There is a fire at the scene, but the derailment occurred in a snow-covered, remote wooded area and there are no reports of injuries or community impacts," CN Rail spokesperson Patrick Waldron said in an email to news media.




Emergency crews will conduct a full site assessment to determine whether any oil was spilled.




Waldron said that 29 of the train's 100 cars were involved in the incident. Seven of the cars were affected by the fire.




The cause of the derailment is under investigation, but Waldron said the train was fully inspected four times and passed a safety detector approximately 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) before the incident with no issues identified.




The track was visually inspected on Saturday morning.




As a result of the derailment, which is still blocking a major rail line, Via Rail has cancelled all trains between Toronto and Winnipeg. Via will provide alternate transportation to customers already en route or scheduled to travel today.