Rules for train operators changing in wake of high-profile incidents in Quebec, Alberta
In July 2013, unattended tank cars carrying crude oil rolled into the town of Lac-Mégantic, Que., resulting in the death of 47 people and the loss of the majority of the community’s downtown area.
In October, the derailment of a train carrying crude oil and gas near Gainford, Alta., resulted in a massive fire.
As a result, regulators have imposed emergency directives for the transportation of hazardous materials, including the requirement that no locomotive attached to loaded tank cars carrying hazardous materials be left unattended. Transport Canada recently implemented measures to make more information available to municipalities concerning potentially dangerous rail activity in their communities.
The new guidelines — aimed at creating more transparency — require rail companies to provide annual reports to municipalities along their routes. The reports would detail the nature and quantity of all dangerous materials being transported, no small feat considering Canada’s rail network is one of the largest in the world.
Canada’s rail system moves more than 300 million tonnes of cargo over more than 48,000 kilometres of track every year, according to Transport Canada.
"If I’m a local resident and I hear a train rumbling through my
neighbourhood and I have no idea what’s in this train, after looking at what happened in Lac-Mégantic, I would be worried," said MP Olivia Chow, official opposition transport and infrastructure critic, said of the country’s sprawling rail system. "Knowledge is very important to reduce fear about rail safety."
Transparency is a key factor in preventing disasters like the one that occurred in Quebec from happening again, Chow said. First responders need as much information as possible when entering a derailment situation like the one faced in Lac-Mégantic.
"Right now the safety management systems of the rail companies are kept secret," Chow said. "First responders have no idea what would be the precise protocol, and that’s just not good enough."
The move toward transparency, however, creates safety issues of its own. Making real-time information detailing the location of all the dangerous cargo being transported across Canada available to thousands of people poses serious safety concerns. The distribution of this information will likely take time to implement without further endangering Canadian citizens.
In addition to its move toward transparency, Transport Canada has made several other more immediate recommendations in an effort to strengthen rail safety, said Rayland Marchand, general manager at the Canada Safety Council.
"They went ahead to require the railway to have a minimum of two people crew, for locomotives on main lines to be locked when the conductor is not in it and for trains carrying dangerous goods on main lines to be under surveillance at all times," Marchand said, adding that in comparison to the number of accidents that occur on Canadian roads, railways are a safe means of transporting dangerous goods.
Malcolm Cairns, former director of business research at Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), recently wrote a report for the Canadian Transportation Research Forum exploring the current state of rail safety. He found that main-track collisions and derailments — the most serious category of rail accidents — have actually declined by more than 50 per cent over the past 10 years.
"Railways in Canada have seen serious accidents declining. We’ve seen the release of dangerous goods on the decline," Cairns said, referencing the spillage of hazardous materials that often contributes to serious damage or injury during rail accidents. This decline also comes in the face of increased traffic.
These statistics, in large part, contribute to the comprehensive systems governing rail safety, Cairns said.
"Lac-Mégantic was an accident," he said. "It was a tragedy, a horrific accident. But it isn’t reflective of the system."
Following several high-profile incidents, Canada’s rail system is under a microscope. But Cairns said this emotional reaction to a "freak accident" shouldn’t colour Canadians’ perception of rail safety.
"While there could indeed be some tinkering in the system and there probably will be, I don’t think there’s any reason for people to panic," he said. "It’s industrial activity and there are risks — it cannot be accident-free — but the record certainly doesn’t show that the industry is in any crisis. Far from it; it’s constantly getting better, bit by bit."
