The derailed C-Train left the tracks just beyond the platform at the Tuscany LRT station in northwest Calgary. The driver was seriously injured in the crash. (Evelyne Asselin/CBC)
Train stop could have prevented Calgary C-Train derailment, says union
Crash sent driver to hospital with serious injuries
CBC News
Last Updated: Sep 22, 2016 4:00 AM MT
The union representing C-Train drivers says placing a train stop at the end of each line could prevent crashes like the one that injured a driver earlier this week.
'Extremely lucky' no one died in C-Train derailment, says Calgary Transit
"In this incidence, without a doubt, it would have prevented the damage that was done," said Rick Ratcliffe, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union's local chapter.
"If there had have been one at that location, the job of the train stop is to stop the train if the appropriate signal is not being shown by the signal tower."
The C-Train derailed at the Tuscany LRT station, the end of the line in northwest Calgary, on Tuesday morning.
The cause of the accident has not yet been determined. Calgary Transit officials are reviewing video surveillance to determine exactly what happened.
The three-car C-Train was going 60 kilometres an hour when it left the tracks and struck a power line pole. Weights from the pole crashed through the windshield, landing in the cab.
The driver, a woman in her early 60s, was seriously hurt and it was difficult to get her out of the damaged train car.
There were three passengers on board at the time of the crash and none were hurt.