Oil train derails in Ontario, catches fire

A CN train hauling crude oil from Alberta to Eastern Canada derailed in northern Ontario on March 7 causing several tank cars to catch fire.

The derailment occurred about 1 1/2 miles from the town of Gogama at around 2:45 a.m. Another fiery CN derailment in the area involving the same model of tank car occurred in the past month.

There were no reports of injuries but several tank cars remained on fire late Saturday afternoon, CN spokesman Mark Hallman said.

“A preliminary assessment indicates a bridge over a waterway has been damaged in the derailment and that five tank cars have landed in the waterway,” he said. “Some of these tank cars are on fire.”

CN officials said emergency responders deployed two boom lines in the waterway to contain the oil, but the drinking supply for nearby residents was not affected.

A command post was set up in Gogama, a town of about 400 people located about 125 miles north of Sudbury. Cleanup crews working at the site of the earlier derailment went into action when the latest incident happened.

Hallman confirmed that the oil was being transported in tank cars built to the CPC-1232 standard, which Transport Canada ordered in January 2014 to be a requirement for all new tank cars constructed to carry flammable liquids.

Compared with the previous “legacy” Class 111 tank cars, which were involved in the fiery disaster in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, in July 2013, those built to the CPC-1232 standard have enhancements including half-head shields, improved top and bottom fitting protection and normalized steel, according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, which is investigating the latest Gogama derailment.

However, the TSB has sounded the alarm that the new CPC-1232 standard is still not enough to prevent ruptures and oil spills during derailments.

Another CN train derailment near Gogama on Feb. 14 involved tank cars built in the last three years to the new standard. No injuries were reported, but the derailment and subsequent oil spill caused fires that took almost a week to extinguish.

CN does not own the tank cars, said Hallman, but he declined to reveal who does, citing contractual confidentiality.

The investigation into the first Gogama derailment is ongoing. In its Feb. 23 progress update, the TSB wrote that the Class 111 tank cars built to the CPC-1232 standard, which had been traveling at the speed of 38 mph (61 km/h) at the time of derailment, “performed similarly to those involved in the Lac-Mégantic accident which occurred at 65 mph (105 km/h).”

The TSB reiterated that it wants tougher standards than CPC-1232 for all Class 111 tank cars. Saturday’s incident is the fourth CN derailment in northern Ontario this year.