On July 6, 2013, Canada watched in horror as a shocking train wreck unfolded in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. A loaded with volatile oil was left unattended with inadequate breaking and rolled down killing 47 people and destroying half the downtown.
The Transportation Safety Board responded with new regulations, which critics decried as not going far enough and the railways viewed as unnecessary. Just six days ago, Hunter Harrison, CEO of Canadian Pacific, said as much according to The Globe and Mail.
"Lac-Mégantic happened, in my view, because of one person's behaviour, if I read the file right," Harrison told the Globe. "An individual did not set the brakes. And I think that we have overreacted and looked at a thousand different things about what we want to do with [regulations]. And you're not going to write [regulations] that are going to stop behaviour."
Speaking of behaviour, how about the railways eliminating cabooses and reducing train operators at the same time they are increasing train lengths and speeds?
On Tuesday, a 100-car train derailed just outside of Clair about 20 kilometres west of Wadena. CN said 26 cars derailed, six of which were carrying toxic materials. Due to the explosion and resulting fire, authorities evacuated the village and others from farm homes in the area. No persons were injured, but farmers fear for their livestock and crops.
All in all, this was a major derailment with a relatively minor immediate impact because, fortunately, it occurred outside a population centre. There is, of course, a bit of a conundrum here.
As Harrison told investors, "Think about what's going on today in North America in both countries, regulators, legislators, shippers are saying you gotta move more stuff, you gotta move it faster, you gotta move it safer. But, by the way you gotta slow down. It doesn't work."
He has a bit of a point. In September, the federal government announced it would fine CN up to $100,000 a week for failing to move enough grain under the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act.
It is unclear how those fines might affect the railway's bottom line but it is becoming increasingly clear that public safety is not a priority.
There were only two employees on the train that wrecked near Wadena on Tuesday. On CBC's The National Tuesday night, there was a report that 75 per cent of train operators admitted to having fallen asleep on the job.
The railroad system is broken in this country. That's bad news because the trains pass through or near virtually every hamlet, village, town and city and they're getting longer all the time. Every single community needs to do more to hold the railroads and regulators accountable. This is a very serious issue that should be a priority for the municipality. Yorkton could be the next Lac-Mégantic.
