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In Whitby, Ont., just blocks from our house, the freight trains roll by day and night. Car after cylindrical car ferries unknown liquids past a neighbourhood park, over an old stone bridge and through a new housing development. My preschool daughter calls it the “juice train,” convinced the cylinders are full of apple juice. She often waves to the conductors as the cars trundle by; they wave back, a quintessential slice of ex-urban Canadian life.
But after the horror of Lac Megantic, it is impossible to look at those trains the same way again. For residents of the small Quebec town, Saturday’s devastating derailment truly was the “end of the world,” an inferno that consumed the heart, if not the spirit, of their community. And after the initial shock and sadness, the next thought on many Canadians’ minds was: could it happen here?
The unpleasant truth is that there is something nasty lurking in everyone’s backyard. Canada’s communities grew up around railroads, many of whom have been affected by the transport of dangerous cargo, though none with such horrific consequences as Lac Megantic.
In 1979, a 106-car train loaded with propane and chlorine derailed in Mississauga, Ont.; one car exploded but miraculously no one was killed, though the city’s then population of 200,000 people had to be evacuated. Just two weeks ago, Calgarians held their breath as a train loaded with petroleum distillate derailed on a bridge over the Bow River, believed damaged by the recent massive floods.
After that incident, the Canadian Press reported on a series of train derailments on Canadian Pacific rail lines in recent years which, though not responsible for any injuries, collectively spilled over 300,000 litres of crude oil and 17 cars of potash in four separate wrecks in Saskatchewan, Minnesota, Ontario and Alberta.
In response, CP spokesman Ed Greenberg claimed that these derailments were unrelated and that, “Over the years, our railway has invested billions of dollars into our North American rail-infrastructure network and our commitment to safety remains a focus as we respond to the demands of the global economy.”
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