21
January 2015
Gatineau, Quebec
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada today
released its investigation
report (R13D0077) into the derailment of a Canadian National Railway
(CN) freight train in Taschereau Yard, Montréal, Quebec.
On 6 November 2013,
at approximately 05:05 Eastern Standard Time, a CN freight train derailed 10
empty cars while travelling through a tight curve at Taschereau Yard in
Montréal, Quebec. The derailed cars and the track were damaged. There were no
injuries.
The investigation
determined that, as the train began to accelerate from a stop, the empty cars
occupying the curve were pulled over the lower (inside) rail and derailed. The
first car to derail, the 29th car, was an empty, long car equipped with
end-of-car cushioning devices. These cars are susceptible to high
lateral/vertical (L/V) forces, especially in curves. With a block of empty cars marshalled ahead of
a block of loaded cars, the empty cars experienced a significantly higher L/V
force than the loaded cars.
In the weeks
following the derailment, CN issued instructions aimed at minimizing in-train
forces in the curve of track CX01. Yard
and train personnel must ensure that the train brakes are fully released before
initiating a movement and must limit the force applied to the train by the
locomotive consist.
CN will continue to
ensure compliance with these instructions by reviewing locomotive event
recorder downloads.