Photo courtesy Transportation Safety Board
A build-up of ice and snow under the tracks is being blamed for a CN train derailment that occurred in Emo in February.
A total of 33 rail cars left the track February 18 at a crossing on Highway 602.
Six cars spilled over 319-thousand litres of petroleum crude oil.
The Transportation Safety Board says the build-up of ice and snow caused the rail to separate from the tie plates and spread under the weight of the train.
The board says rail companies are aware of this phenomenon known as ‘ice jacking’ which can be difficult to detect even through visual inspections because of the snow.
The TSB notes that CN had inspected that rail just two days before the crash.
Video from a train that passed the crossing earlier in the day revealed snow covering the build-up.
Image from the forward-facing video from CN train 118 (Source: Transportation Safety Board/Canadian National Railway Company)
The Board found no fault with the crew, noting “the locomotive event recorder data determined that the train was handled in accordance with all regulatory and company requirements, with no operating anomalies noted.”
Here is the TSB’s final report in full.
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