MEC&F Expert Engineers : IS CANADA’S INFRASTRUCTURE ALSO DOWN THE DRAIN, SORRY, TRAIN: TRAIN CARRYING CRUDE OIL DERAILS NEAR GOGAMA, ONT. THIS IS THE 4TH TRAIN DERAILMENT IN NORTHERN ONTARIO THIS YEAR

IS CANADA’S INFRASTRUCTURE ALSO DOWN THE DRAIN, SORRY, TRAIN: TRAIN CARRYING CRUDE OIL DERAILS NEAR GOGAMA, ONT. THIS IS THE 4TH TRAIN DERAILMENT IN NORTHERN ONTARIO THIS YEAR

March 7, 2015

Several cars have caught fire after a Canadian National Railway train carrying crude oil derailed in northern Ontario, prompting officials to advise nearby residents to stay indoors and avoid consuming water from local sources.

Ontario Provincial Police were called to the scene at approximately 2:45 a.m. ET. Police said 10 cars derailed four kilometres southwest of Gogama, Ont., and there were no initial reports of injuries.

Several cars have caught fire, police said, and others entered the Mattagami River System.

The cause of the derailment is still under investigation and the Ministry of Environment has been notified.

Residents of Mattagami First Nation are being advised not to consume water from the community source for the time being. Residents of Gogama and Mattagami First Nation are being asked to stay inside until further notice due to possible smoke inhalation.

CN Rail said emergency crews are conducting a full site assessment and activating the emergency response plan with local officials.

NDP MPP for the region France Gélinas is on her way to the site after speaking to members of the local services board and residents of Gogama.

"They are courageous and scared," said Gélinas. "This is the second derailment near their town and this one is very close. People can talk pictures of the black smoke from their homes."

Natalie Godet with the local services board said there is no immediate danger to residents and CN officials are on site doing air quality tests.

Highway 144 at Highway 661 at the Watershed is closed. There is access to communities north of Gogama by way of the Cache.

This is the fourth CN Rail derailment in northern Ontario this year.

A train derailed last month, spilling crude oil and forcing the closure of the rail line.

It is becoming increasingly clear that there is a problem with these trains. They derail so easily, even going at low speeds. Lack of maintenance, poor maintenance, no rail inspections, unsafe rail cars, human errors, failing infrastructure, and so on. The same is going on in the US. Profit comes first, and these corporations refuse to perform infrastructure upgrades because they must make their profits first, and issue their dividends prior to do it what needs to be done.

As people may understand, or even know, these companies do perform a risk analysis and determine the amount of money needed to upgrade the infrastructure and the amount of money needed to respond and pay for damages. Well, the cost to pay for damages is far less than the cost to upgrade the infrastructure and this is why it is not being done.

In conclusion, folks, do not expect things to improve by much, unless and until another 40 people or so get roasted alive by a train fire just like it happened to the poor Canadians two years ago.

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Another Explosion and Fire: Train carrying crude oil derails in Canada

MARCH 7, 2015

A train carrying crude oil has derailed in Northern Ontario and burst into flames. This is the fourth derailment in the province since the start of the year.

CN Rail, the owner of the rail network in the eastern Canadian province, said the crash took place at 2:45 am on Saturday. No one was injured.

Three roads near the community of Gogama, where the accident took place, have been sealed off for up to 36 hours.

The $70-billion Canadian National Railway Company suffered its last derailment in nearby Horneypayne just two days earlier, though there was no chemical spillage in that crash.

@CBCnewsSudbury@SudburyStar apparently a train explosion near Gogama with Hwy 144 south closed. Not my photo. pic.twitter.com/rVRPZZGCzb

— MXICAN CNADIAN (@Themehicano) March 7, 2015

#CNDerailment today (photo cred. Meghan Hotchkiss) right next to Gogama pic.twitter.com/R7Y51JXbDh

— Zen Constant (@ConstantZen) March 7, 2015

But a massive explosion, also in Gogama, just last month resulted in the spillage of more than 1 million liters of bitumen into the environment, after 15 carriage tanks were breached, following yet another derailment. The authorities said that the spill contaminated a nearby lake and pond, but insisted the toxicity levels were not threatening to humans or wildlife.

Last year Canadian authorities instituted more stringent safety standards for rail cars carrying flammable liquids, and last month new rules increased insurance liabilities for companies transporting dangerous goods.

The measures are a response primarily to the Luc-Megantic disaster of 2013, when an oil-laden train exploded after a derailment in an urban area in Quebec, causing the deaths of 47 people.

The industry has resisted sweeping measures, which it says will force it to refit 50,000 train carriages in a decade, scuppering the oil-by-rail revolution that has taken place in the last half decade, caused by production expansion in Western Canada, and limits in pipeline capacity. Canadian train tracks are expected to carry 700,000 barrels of oil a day by next year, up from less than 300,000 in 2009.

In conclusion, folks, do not expect things to improve by much, unless and until another 40 people or so get roasted alive by a train fire just like it happened to the poor Canadians two years ago.

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TORONTO, CANADA

A Canadian National Railway Co train carrying crude oil has derailed near the Northern Ontario community of Gogama, with crews reporting a fire but no injuries, the company said on Saturday.

CN said the derailment along its main line, which occurred just before 4 a.m. on Saturday, is affecting rail traffic running between Toronto and Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Source:www.cbc.ca

As people may understand, or even know, these companies do perform a risk analysis and determine the amount of money needed to upgrade the infrastructure and the amount of money needed to respond and pay for damages. Well, the cost to pay for damages is far, far less than the cost to upgrade the infrastructure and this is why it is not being done.

In conclusion, folks, do not expect things to improve by much, unless and until another 40 people or so get roasted alive by a train fire just like it happened to the poor Canadians two years ago at Lac-Megantic.

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(Reuters) - A Canadian National Railway Co train carrying crude oil has derailed near the Northern Ontario community of Gogama, with the crew reporting a fire but no injuries, the company said on Saturday.

A preliminary assessment indicated a bridge over a waterway had been damaged and a number of tank cars were in the waterway after the derailment, Canadian National's second in the region in just three days and third in less than a month.

"Emergency crews are conducting a full site assessment to determine the precise number of cars involved," said CN spokesman Mark Hallman in an e-mail.

Local media said the derailment had forced the closure of a nearby highway and photos showing clouds of black smoke were posted online.

The railway did not immediately say which type of crude oil the train was carrying, but noted the tank cars were the newer Casualty Prevention Circular 1232 model, which are widely regarded as better protected against damage than older types.

Regulators and operators have criticized earlier DOT-111 cars for being prone to puncture. The CPC 1232's new safety specifications include a thicker tank, top-fitting protection and a pressure relief system.

The incident comes after another derailment on March 5 blocked Canadian National's main line in northern Ontario.

CN said the latest derailment happened two miles (3.2 km northwest of Gogama, which is some 600 km north of Toronto. It occurred just before 3 a.m. ET/0800 GMT on Saturday and is affecting rail traffic running between Toronto and Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The railway said both westbound and eastbound traffic on the line was obstructed and could be delayed by 24 hours or more.

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http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2015/03/cn-oil-train-derailment-in-northern.html

WE HAVE NEVER SEEN THAT KIND OF FIRE BEFORE. BRIDGE IS GONE, OIL IN THE RIVER

Emily Chan, CTVNews.ca
Published Saturday, March 7, 2015 9:40AM EST
Last Updated Saturday, March 7, 2015 4:15PM EST

A CN freight train carrying crude oil derailed early Saturday in northern Ontario, causing 10 cars to jump the tracks.

Ontario Provincial Police said the derailment happened near Gogoma, Ont., around 2:45 a.m. Saturday morning, with some of the cars catching fire and others falling into the Mattagami River.

Residents of Gogoma and the local Mattagami First Nation have been instructed to stay indoors until further notice to prevent possible smoke inhalation. They have also been told to avoid drinking water from the "community source," police said.

Burning fuel fills the sky with smoke after a train derailment near Gogama, Ont. on Saturday March 7, 2015. (Denise Brunet / MyNews)

OPP Const. Gillian Coughlin told The Canadian Press that officers are on scene, and firefighters from the nearby Gogama Fire Department have been called in help douse the flames. Gogoma is about 80 kilometres south of Timmins, Ont.

"There has been nobody injured which is crucial, but we definitely do have an issue going on there with cars that caught fire," Coughlin added.

The Gogoma Fire Department released a statement saying the smoke itself is not toxic, but particles in the smoke may be dangerous. The department recommended anybody with breathing disorders stay inside until further notice.

"Emergency crews are conducting a full site assessment and activating the emergency response plan with local officials," CN spokesperson Emily Hamer told The Canadian Press.

A local business owner told The Canadian Press the fire spread quickly along the Mattagami River and has destroyed a bridge on the outskirts of Gogoma.

"We have two exits in Gogoma to get in and out of town and the bridge apparently is burned down," said Roxanne Veronneau, owner of the Gogoma Village Inn.

"So now we have one other exit, which is relatively close to where all of this is going on."

The derailment also closed a section of Highway 144, between Highway 560 and Mattagami Reserve Road. The road is a major route connecting Timmins with southern Ontario. It is expected to remain closed for 24 to 36 hours, the OPP said.

Via Rail passenger service has also been cancelled between Winnipeg and Toronto. You can check the status of Via trains here.

Veronneau says that people in Gogoma are on "edge," and she feared that the derailment could be a repeat of the deadly rail disaster in Lac-Megantic, Que.

"They're not impressed because it could have happened right here," she said. "Look in Quebec what happened to them and how many lives were lost.

"My inn is about 200 feet from the train tracks and it's a major concern for the people in town ... If it had happened in the middle of town we wouldn't be having a conversation right now because we would have gotten taken out. It would have been horrible being this close and the track runs right through the middle of Gogama."

Coughlin says that the cause of the derailment is still being probed, and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has deployed investigators to the site.

This is the third time in the past month that a CN train has gone off the tracks in northern Ontario.

On Feb. 14, 29 train cars derailed south of Timmins. In that incident, seven cars caught on fire, and Via Rail passenger trains were forced to cancel trips along the route from Winnipeg to Toronto.

Another CN freight train carrying crude oil or gasoline derailed Thursday about 100 kilometres east of Hornepayne, Ont., but there was no spillage in that incident.

CN said the train that derailed on Saturday was outfitted to meet new upgraded standards for cars carrying crude oil and other flammable liquids. The changes were instituted in light of the Lac-Megantic disaster two years ago, which resulted in 47 deaths.

However, after the incident in February, the agency said the upgraded cars still "performed similarly" to those in involved in Lac-Megantic, and that last month's incident "demonstrates the inadequacy" of the new standards.

CN is urging Transport Canada to institute even greater protection standards to reduce the risk of spills.