The TSB investigation also found that the load securement on the flat car “had not been inspected to Railway Association of Canada standards before the car was released for shipment to its destination.”
Inadequately secured cargo led to a 22-car derailment of a Canadian Pacific freight train near St-Polycarpe in July 2018, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has found.
In a report made public Monday, the TSB determined that “the derailment occurred when the leading end of a boxcar struck a 21-foot section of stock rail that had fallen from the end of the preceding A-frame flat car” because it had been inadequately secured on top of a load of unbundled cross ties.
“If written procedures for the safe loading and securement of rail cars are not developed and implemented, cargo may not be properly loaded and/or secured, increasing the risk of material falling off a railcar during train operations,” the report noted.
The TSB investigation also found that the load securement on the flat car “had not been inspected to Railway Association of Canada standards before the car was released for shipment to its destination.”
The TSB was also critical of the manner in which CP controlled access to the derailment site, noting that “After the initial response and site assessment, members of the public were able to access the site without supervision, training or personal protective equipment.”
The agency said it transmitted its findings to Transport Canada, which in turn raised the issues with CP, directing the railway to take appropriate actions on loading procedures.
There were no injuries in the derailment nor were any dangerous materials released during the incident.
