CN Safety

Two CN freight trains collided today in Northern BC after one of them derailed onto the opposite set of tracks. There were no injuries to the crew members, but fuel is leaking into the Fraser River and a diesel engine and a lumber car are in flames.

This is the fifth major derailment to have struck the CN in the last two years and raises alarming questions about the safety standards of the service and tracks. An average of two and a half major derailments per year does indeed seem to be an awfully dangerous number, especially when one takes into account the environmental damage caused by these accidents and the fact that the CN tracks are also leased by ViaRail. It was after all, only two years ago that a derailed CN train spilled 41 000 litres of caustic soda into the Cheakamus River, wiping out its entire fish population.

It is imperative that we establish once and for all the frequency of accidents which we are willing to tolerate and have our safety officials act in consequence. At the moment, the situation seems totally ridiculous, and if it is not remedied, it will only be a matter of years before a Via Rail train carrying hundreds of passengers plunges straight into a gorge.