13 rail cars derail east of Brandon, no one injured

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This article was published 11/03/2015 (4071 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Crews continue to clean up after a train derailment in rural Manitoba Wednesday night. 

Around 7:10 p.m., multiple cars of an eastbound CN Rail train went off the tracks near the hamlet of Gregg, Man., about 50 kilometres northeast of Brandon.

Crews were sent to the scene to investigate Wednesday night as per CN’s emergency response plan, a CN spokesman said. There were no reports of injuries.

Thirteen cars were involved in the derailment. The cars were carrying refinery cracking stock, a non-regulated commodity.
 
One car involved in the derailment spilled some product. That spill has been contained and CN is working with Manitoba environmental officials on scene to clean up the product from the ground adjacent to the track. No waterways have been impacted.     
 
CN crews have completed repairs to the main track and reopened that track to train traffic at 5 a.m. Thursday morning. Crews continue to work on repairs to an adjacent siding track expected to be completed later today.
 
The cause of the derailment remains under investigation.

Robert Adriaansen, Reeve of the RM of North Cypress-Langford said he was notified by CN on Wednesday night.

“I’m quite impressed by their reaction time and how they got everything under control,” Adriaansen told the Sun.

Crews including Manitoba’s Emergency Measures Organization, are on hand on the site.

The area surrounding the site does include some farmland within a mile, but “There is no concern to them at this time,” Adriaansen said.

Leslie Olmstead, who farms the land where the derailment happened, said he was working in his yard when it happened.

“All I heard was the breaks coming on,” said the grain and cattle farmer. “They did come on fairly hard, and I did wonder, but I didn’t know it had happened.”

He said he isn’t concerned about his farmland but said “It’ll be a bit of a mess” as they clean up the wreckage. He said CN hasn’t contacted him.

Trains — transporting what Olmstead assumes is oil — go through that area about once a week, he said.

The Transportation Safety Board said Thursday that it’s reviewing the case to determine if further investigation is required.

CN was the company involved in a fiery derailment on Saturday just outside Gogama in northern Ontario.

The track and a bridge were destroyed, and a trace of oil product was found in the mouth of the local river system.

There have been three recent CN Rail derailments in northern Ontario, including two along a 40-kilometre stretch of track about an hour south of Timmins. 

On Wednesday, the Canadian government proposed tough new standards for rail tank cars used to transport crude oil.

The proposal would require the cars to have outer "jackets," a layer of thermal protection, and thicker steel walls.

» With files from The Canadian Press

A look at some of the train wrecks and derailments in the Westman area:

Jan. 1, 2013: A Canadian Pacific Rail freight train derails on New Year’s Day in Brandon near the First Street overpass. No one is injured in the three-car derailment.

April 30, 2011: Twenty-three cars left the CN track about 48 kilometres southeast of St. Lazare. In total, 41 containers were involved in the derailment, 11 of which were loaded with unidentified but "non-dangerous" cargo while the other 30 were empty. No one was injured and there were no environmental issues.

Aug. 24, 2010: Five cars — two loaded with grain and three holding sodium chlorite — derailed in Brandon under the Eighth Street Bridge. No one was injured in the derailment and no cargo was spilled.

Feb. 11, 2010: Fifty-seven cars carrying potash to the U.S. came off the tracks in the RM of Daly about 16 km west of Rivers. Trevor Peters, who works at a grain elevator near the derailment, said: "It sounded like the train was actually coming into the elevator," as the cars piled up.

Sept. 4, 2009: Grain cars and locomotives lay in a twisted wreck after a train derailed south of Carberry. The derailment was caused by a semi trailer hitting the train. No one was injured in the accident, which crushed the second rig of the double-long semi.

Oct. 22, 2008: Four cars containing anhydrous ammonia were among train cars that left the track in Brandon. There were no leaks but students at six nearby schools and area residents were told to stay indoors. The derailment forced the city to re-examine its emergency plan.

Dec. 2, 2005: A CN train derailed about five kilometres west of Brandon. There were no injuries when the train of approximately 50 cars left the tracks.

Nov. 7, 2002: No one was injured in a CPR derailment that saw 18 boxcars careen off the rails, tearing up about 300 metres of track in the process in Newdale. The 52-car train was carrying only grain. Several boxcars flew off the rails landing side-by-side, shredded and spilling barley.

May 2, 2002: A large fire engulfed five derailed tank cars carrying dangerous goods after a train collided with a tractor-trailer and came off the tracks near Firdale. Four of the five cars suffered punctures and released products forcing a total of 156 people to be evacuated for two days from the area of the derailed train, which was 21 freight cars in length. There were no significant injuries.

Oct. 1, 2001: Nine cars, including two loaded tank cars of methanol and one loaded with vinyl acetate, derailed near Kemnay. As a precaution, 69 people were evacuated from Kemnay because of the hazardous goods. No injuries or release of product occurred in the derailment.