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OTTAWA AND TORONTO — The federal government has issued new safety guidelines for railways carrying hazardous goods after being urged to do so by the Transportation Safety Board in the wake of the fatal derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Que.
Transport Canada announced an “emergency directive” Tuesday that requires rail operators to ensure all trains loaded with hazardous goods are run by at least two qualified people. It also said no such trains can be left unattended on main tracks and tightened rules covering the use of handbrakes and other equipment that would prevent an unattended train from moving.
The rules come as the Conservative majority on a House of Commons committee rejected an NDP effort to begin studying rail safety in Canada, with the government side arguing that the committee should wait for more information on what caused the accident and that a parliamentary study now would draw critical resources away from the investigation.
The government acted just four days after a call for new regulations by the Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the deadly accident.
“The disaster brought to light several industry practices which have caused some concerns,” Gerard McDonald, assistant deputy minister at Transport Canada told a teleconference Tuesday. “Given that and with an abundance of precaution, we thought it would be prudent to implement these measures now.”
He said Transport Canada will ensure there is adequate inspection to enforce the new rules. He acknowledged the department has not added inspectors despite the surge in shipments of massive trainloads of crude oil across the country.
Investigators in Lac-Mégantic are still determining what caused the unoccupied Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway train to roll toward the small town early on July 6. The train, comprising 72 tankers of crude oil, slammed into the downtown, setting off a series of explosions and a fire that flattened 40 buildings and killed about 50 people.
MM&A has stopped paying for the cleanup of the disaster site, forcing the town to pick up the tab, Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche said Tuesday.
The town has sent a lawyer’s letter to MM&A, giving it 48 hours to repay the more than $4-million Lac-Mégantic has spent so far to retain the three firms initially hired by MM&A.
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