BLAME THE HAIR FOR THE DICK BEING TOO SHORT.
Railroad and safety board member claim that poor and defenseless Beavers may have caused fatal train derailment in Manitoba . How about heavy water flows and lack of proper inspection of the raillines being the cause of the derailment?
THOMPSON, Man. — A Transportation Safety Board investigator says beavers may have contributed to the train derailment in northern Manitoba that left one railway worker dead and another injured.
a day ago by: Canadian Press
Updated a day ago
THOMPSON, Man. — A Transportation Safety Board investigator says beavers may have contributed to the train derailment in northern Manitoba that left one railway worker dead and another injured.
The train went off the tracks on a washed-out trestle bridge in a swampy area south of Thompson on Saturday evening.
Jerry Berriault, the board's regional senior investigator, says the train was traveling around 40 km/h when it met with the washed-out piece of track.
The lead locomotive went off the track bringing along two locomotives behind it and four rail cars.
First responders have said the two workers were trapped inside the train for hours.
Berriault, who was on site west of Ponton for two days investigating, says there was high water in the area and signs of beaver activity.
"They've had heavy precipitation for spring and summer as well there was beaver activity in the area," he said. "So, the track washed out as a result of a significant amount of water."
He says the Transportation Safety Board will still have to look at other factors that may have contributed to the derailment on the Hudson Bay line.
The train cars carrying liquefied petroleum were damaged but none of the product was breached, he added. However, Manitoba Sustainable Development has sent in specialized recovery equipment to clean up diesel fuel leaking from the locomotives into the Metishto River.
The Arctic Gateway Group, a public-private consortium, bought the Hudson Bay Railway earlier this month.
Sections of the railway north of the recent derailment washed out in 2017 and the its previous owner, U.S.-based Omnitrax, had refused to make repairs.
Crews have been working since the sale to try to repair the railway, the only land link to Churchill, Man., a community of about 900 people on Hudson Bay.
Murad Al-Katib of AGT Foods, one of the Arctic Gateway Group's partners, has said the group will not compromise speed for safety during the repairs on the northern section of the rail line to Churchill.
— By Kelly Geraldine Malone in Winnipeg.
The Canadian Press
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Fuel from derailed locomotive in Manitoba leaks into river, clean-up underway
The Canadian Press
Updated: September 18, 2018
WINNIPEG, CANADA — A train that derailed in northern Manitoba on Saturday that killed a railway worker is leaking diesel fuel into the Metishto River.
Manitoba Sustainable Development says the fuel is from one of the locomotives.
The province says spill recovery equipment is being used to clean up the fuel at the site west of Ponton.
The train was carrying cargo including gasoline, liquid propane gas and butane, but there has been no indication that any of that has spilled or leaked.
The Arctic Gateway Group has said a second railway employee sustained serious injuries in the wreck.
VIA Rail says it has been forced to suspend operations between Winnipeg and Gillam because of the derailment.
“Service on this 1,400 km segment will be restored as soon as the infrastructure is determined to be safe for passenger service,” VIA Rail said in a statement Tuesday.
The Arctic Gateway Group is a public-private consortium which bought the Hudson Bay Railway earlier this month from U.S.-based Omnitrax.
Sections of the railway north of the derailment washed out in 2017 and Omnitrax had refused to make repairs, claiming the line was been losing money for years and would cost tens of millions of dollars to fix.
The railway is the only land link to Churchill, Man., a community of about 900 people on the shores of Hudson Bay, and crews have been working since the sale to try to reopen the connection before winter. (CTV Winnipeg, The Canadian Press)
================================
Beth Macdonell, Reporter
Last Updated Tuesday, September 18, 2018
New challenges are surfacing three days after a train carrying liquid petroleum derailed near Ponton, Man., leaving one man dead and another seriously injured.
A provincial spokesperson says there was a leak of diesel fuel from the locomotive into a nearby waterway.
“Specialized spill recovery equipment is on its way to the site and will be used as part of the cleanup operation,” said the spokesperson in an email to CTV News late Tuesday afternoon.
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On Tuesday CTV News went back to the river and found a crew there. (Chase Gouthro/CTV News)
CTV News observed the leak, located off Hwy. 39, about 10 km west of Ponton, on Monday night. (Beth Macdonell/CTV News)
“Manitoba Sustainable Development is monitoring the cleanup from the train derailment near Ponton. The train was carrying a variety of cargo including gasoline, liquid propane gas and butane, but there has been no indication that any of that cargo spilled or leaked,” read the email.
CTV News observed the leak, located off Hwy. 39, about 10 km west of Ponton, on Monday night.
“Makes me feel sick,” said Robert Ducharme who lives in Ponton.
“Some of my friends are commercial fisherman and this is flowing right into their lake and some of them are pulling out their nets,” he added.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the federal agency responsible for investigating rail accidents for cause and contributing factors, said there is no leak from the tanks cars.
“However damage to the locomotives during the derailment may have resulted in a leak from the locomotives, said spokesperson Alex Fournier in a statement to CTV News earlier Tuesday afternoon.
Transport Canada said two of its inspectors were at the derailment site Sunday and said none of the derailed railcars were leaking. That finding was echoed Tuesday.
“Two Transport Canada inspectors were at the derailment site again today and confirmed that none of the derailed railcars containing liquefied petroleum gas are leaking their contents. Manitoba Sustainable Development is working to contain the sheen on the Metishto River by deploying absorbent booms,” said a statement to CTV News.
On Tuesday CTV News went back to the river and found a crew there.
A provincial spokesperson said environment staff are on site and the cleanup is underway.
VIA Rail suspends operations
VIA Rail told CTV News Tuesday it has been forced to suspend its operations between Winnipeg and Gillam as a result of the derailment.
“Service on this 1,400 km segment will be restored as soon as the infrastructure is determined to be safe for passenger service,” said VIA Rail.